3rd October 2023 – (Hong Kong) In the aftermath of the extended holiday period, Hong Kong stocks experienced a significant pullback, with the Hang Seng Index opening lower by 263 points and the decline widening to a maximum of 514 points, reaching a low of 17,294 points. Currently, the index is hovering around a 500-point decline, struggling to maintain stability at the 17,300-point level. The state-owned enterprise index dropped by 170 points, while the technology index experienced a decline of 100 points. The total turnover on the main board stood at HK$34 billion.
The decline in the market was primarily driven by the slump in large-scale tech and internet stocks. Ctrip.com International Ltd. (CTRP) fell by 4%, Meituan (MEIT) dropped by 3.3%, Baidu (BIDU) declined by 3.1%, NetEase (NTES) experienced a 3% drop, JD.com (JD) Group fell by 2.9%, and both Xiaomi (1810) Group and Alibaba (9988) Group saw a decline of 2.7%. Tencent (700) Holdings Ltd. also experienced a decline of 1.7%.
Financial stocks showed a softer performance, with China Ping An Insurance (2318) falling by 4.3%, China Merchants Bank (3968) declining by 3.6%, Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (388) dropping by 2.6%, and the three major Chinese banks, namely Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (1398), China Construction Bank (939), and Bank of China (3988), seeing declines ranging from 1.8% to 2.9%. HSBC Holdings (5) also faced a decline of 1.8%. In contrast, AIA (2378) Insurance bucked the trend, rising by 0.9% against the market downturn.
The resumption of trading for China Evergrande Group (3333) and Evergrande Property Services Group (6666) attracted attention. China Evergrande Group skyrocketed by as much as 35.9%, currently up by 22%. On the other hand, Evergrande Property Services Group initially rose by 13% but later experienced a decline of 3.4%.
