HSI In The Red After Rollercoaster Day

Mainland tech and dual-listed shares in Hong Kong sank on Thursday after the US securities regulator announced that it is planning to roll out measures that could delist foreign firms that do not comply with auditing rules or declare their government links.

The Hang Seng Index began the day in the red and plunged as many as 413 points. But financials gave the benchmark a push back into positive territory before lunch.

The index failed to maintain its momentum after the break, finishing 18 points lower, at 27,899.

Turnover was HK$200.5 billion.

Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing and AIA each jumped about three percent.

But the top gainer was Anta Sports, which surged 8.4 percent, despite posting a three percent drop in annual profit. The mainland sports group declared on Weibo that it has been using cotton from Xinjiang – the announcement coming as mainland media and internet users chided overseas brands for their stance over reports of human rights abuses in the region.

The biggest blue-chip loser – Xiaomi – slumped 4.4 percent, after the smartphone maker announced earnings that missed estimates and warned about a rise in costs due to a global chip supply crunch.

Heavyweight Tencent gave up 2.8 percent. Alibaba lost 3.9 percent. Meituan was down 1.6 percent.

China Mobile dropped 2.1 percent, after the mainland telco giant reported growth of one percent in annual profit.

Across the border, the blue-chip CSI300 index inched down less than 0.1 percent to its lowest close in three months.

The Shanghai Composite Index slipped 0.1 percent, while the Shenzhen Composite was marginally lower.

Around the region, Japan’s Nikkei gained 1.1 percent. The Kospi in Seoul edged up 0.4 percent, while Taiwan and Sydney each put on 0.2 percent.