HK stocks fall on Tencent regulatory concerns; China little changed
03/08/2021 05:54
SHANGHAI, Aug 3 (Reuters) - Hong Kong stocks fell on
Tuesday, with tech shares leading the declines, as index
heavyweight Tencent Holdings Ltd 0700.HK slumped over 10%
after a media report stoked concerns over tighter regulation on
online gaming.
** China stocks were unchanged, as a jump in healthcare stocks
amid fresh COVID-19 fears offset falls in banks and developers.
** The Hang Seng index .HSI dropped 1.0% to 25,987.16 at the
end of the morning session, while the Hong Kong China
Enterprises Index .HSCE lost 1.1%, to 9,233.11.
** The CSI300 index .CSI300 rose 0.2%, to 4,945.12, while the
Shanghai Composite Index .SSEC was unchanged at 3,464.31.
** The Hang Seng Tech Index .HSTECH fell 2.4%.
** Tencent was set to see its sharpest fall in a decade after a
Chinese state media outlet branded online video games "spiritual
opium", worrying investors that the sector may be next in
regulators' crosshairs. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N2PA03U
** Hong Kong-listed shares of rival NetEase Inc 9999.HK
slumped as much as 15.7%, while those of game developer XD Inc
2400.HK and mobile gaming company GMGE Technology Group Ltd
0302.HK also plunged.
** In China, healthcare stocks surged .CSIHCSI as COVID-19
vaccine and diagnosis stocks jumped amid signs of the virus
spreading into more Chinese cities.
** But property stocks in both markets weakened further.
** China Evergrande Group 3333.HK , the country's most-indebted
developer, slumped nearly 5%, after Moody's downgraded the
company and its affiliates, and a unit of Leo Group 002131.SZ
sued Evergrande for failing to pay fees for advertisement.
** "With the lack of signs of a rebound in economic
fundamentals, a slowdown in domestic credit, and no further
monetary easing policy, the stock market's risk appetite is
unlikely to increase in the short run," UBS Securities China
Rates Market analyst Mary Xia wrote.
(Reporting by Shanghai Newsroom; editing by Uttaresh.V)
((samuel.shen@tr.com))