Hong Kong stocks post weekly losses as Beijing's clampdown widens
30/04/2021 10:05
* HK->Shanghai Connect daily quota used -0.9%, Shanghai->HK
daily
quota used 0%
* HSI -2.0%, HSCE -2.0%, CSI300 -0.8%
* FTSE China A50 -1.0%
April 30 (Reuters) - Hong Kong stocks dropped on Friday to
post weekly losses, weighed down by tech firms, after Beijing
widened crackdown on fintech companies as financial watchdogs
might order them to strengthen compliance with regulations.
** The Hang Seng index .HSI fell 2% to 28,724.88, while
the China Enterprises Index .HSCE lost 2% to 10,825.25 points.
** For the week, HSI declined 1.2% while HSCE shed 2.2%.
** Tech stocks led the slide on Friday amid mounting
regulatory concerns. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N2MN03C
** The Hang Seng tech index .HSTECH and the Hang Seng IT
index .HSCIIT retreated 2.2% and 2.3%, respectively.
** Chinese financial watchdogs on Thursday summoned 13
internet platforms engaged in finance business, including
heavyweights Tencent 0700.HK and ByteDance, the central bank
said. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N2MM171
** Data on Friday showed China's factory activity expanded
at a slower pace and missed forecasts in April as supply
bottlenecks and rising costs weighed on production and overseas
demand lost momentum. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N2MN02F
** Tensions between Beijing and Washington also added to the
pressure, as tech firms are seen vulnerable to the rift between
two of the world's largest economies.
** U.S. President Joe Biden took aim at China in his first
speech to Congress, pledging to maintain a strong U.S. military
presence in the Indo-Pacific and promising to boost
technological development and trade. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N2MM03T
** Around the region, MSCI's Asia ex-Japan stock index
.MIAPJ0000PUS was weaker by 0.93%, while Japan's Nikkei index
.N225 closed down 0.83%.
** The yuan CNY=CFXS was quoted at 6.4698 per U.S. dollar
at 0842 GMT, 0.03% firmer than the previous close of 6.472.
** At close, China's A-shares were trading at a premium of
35.61% over Hong Kong-listed H-shares.
(Reporting by the Shanghai Newsroom, Editing by Sherry
Jacob-Phillips)
((luoyan.liu@thomsonreuters.com; Reuters Messaging:
luoyan.liu.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))