Videogame stocks slip after China calls online gaming 'spiritual opium'

The9

03/08/2021 13:31

(Updates)
    ** Videogame companies drop sharply premarket after China's
state media refers to online games as "spiritual opium", stoking
fears of tighter regulation 
    ** Activision Blizzard  ATVI.O , which has the largest
exposure to Chinese markets among U.S. peers, drops 2.1%, while
its Chinese partner Netease Inc  NTES.O  slumps 9.2%
    ** Internet giant Tencent Holdings  0700.HK  says it would
curb minors' access to its flagship video game, hours after its
shares were battered by the report in a Xinhua-affiliated
publication  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N2PA03U
    ** Hong Kong-listed shares of Tencent, one of China's tech
trinity of BAT that includes Baidu and Alibaba, were down ~6.1% 
    ** HUYA  HUYA.O , an operator of game live streaming
platforms, sees its U.S. shares fall 4.8%; Douyu International
Holdings  DOYU.O  drops 5.1%
    ** Chinese mobile game publisher Bilibili  BILI.O  slides
6.7%, while The9 Ltd  NCTY.O  drops 0.6%
    ** Electronic Arts  EA.O  sheds 1%, while Take-Two
Interactive Software  TTWO.O  slumps more than 4% after its
annual forecast disappoints  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N2P93N4
    ** KraneShares CSI China Internet ETF  KWEB.N  down 32.7%
for the year through last close on fears of further Chinese
government crackdown on the country's large tech sector

 (Reporting by Aaron Saldanha and Ambar Warrick in Bengaluru)
 ((Aaron.Saldanha@thomsonreuters.com; +91 80 6749 1130))