SHANGHAI: Hong Kong equities fell on Friday, and were set to snap a six-week winning streak, as US President Donald Trump announced fresh tariffs on Chinese imports and investors booked profit on tech stocks.
China stocks end mixed as factory slump persists
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Hong Kong’s benchmark Hang Seng slipped 2.3%. Chinese shares also fell, with the blue-chip CSI300 Index dropping 0.8% by the lunch break and the Shanghai Composite Index losing 0.9%.
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Trump on Thursday announced a 10% duty on Chinese imports on top of the 10% tariff that he levied on February 4, taking the cumulative tariff to 20%.
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“Trump’s cabinet, especially the members in charge of foreign and trade policies, has exhibited a staunchly hawkish stance towards China,” said Ting Lu, chief China economist at Nomura.
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“Nothing is said more clearly than Secretary of State Marco Rubio’ remark: ‘China is the most potent and dangerous near-peer adversary this nation has ever faced’.”
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Lu expected tensions between the two mega economies to worsen significantly, especially as China continues to make large strides in high tech, including in AI and robotics.
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The Hang Seng Index was set to decline 1.3% for the week, after six weeks of gains, as investors took profit on the tech rally.
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“The market could use Xiaomi’s product launch event and Tencent’s new AI launch as catalysts for further profit taking in HSTECH names on Friday,” UBS analysts said.
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Tech majors traded in Hong Kong slid nearly 4% on the day, after surging nearly 30% this year. ** AI shares traded onshore shed 3.5%.
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