Hong Kong, China stocks slide as Beijing policy move disappoints amid tariff worries

Stocks in Hong Kong fell as Beijing’s lacklustre policy announcement on Friday disappointed investors amid rising concerns about tariffs following the US election.

The Hang Seng Index closed 1.5 per cent lower at 20,426.93 on Monday, while the Tech Index dropped 0.4 per cent. The CSI 300 Index and the Shanghai Composite Index erased early losses to gain 0.7 per cent and 0.5 per cent, respectively.

Property and tech stocks led the decline in Hong Kong. Longfor Group plunged 4.5 per cent to HK$13.10, New World Development fell 1.5 per cent to HK$7.84 and Sun Hung Kai Properties lost 1.5 per cent to HK$78.50.

Baidu fell 2 per cent to HK$87.20 while JD.com lost 2.3 per cent to HK$151.70, and Alibaba Group slid 0.1 per cent to HK$94.10.

“Markets may have been disappointed, as only debt swap programmes were announced,” Ting Lu, the chief China economist at Nomura, said in a note on Monday, adding that failing to mention any upcoming fiscal stimulus could deal a blow to markets.