HONG KONG: Hong Kong extended losses Monday morning, as China’s imports and exports both posted unexpected drops last month, suggesting more downside risks facing the economy.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index HSI, -0.46% fell 0.7%, adding to Friday’s 0.4% loss, while the Shanghai Composite Index SHCOMP, +0.30% was weaker by 0.4%, heading toward a possible fifth losing session in a row.
In Hong Kong, several top-weighted stocks traded lower, with Tencent Holdings Ltd. 0700, -1.04% TCEHY, -1.58% down 1.3%, Tencent Holdings Ltd. 0700, -1.04% TCEHY, -1.58% down 1%, and China Construction Bank Corp. 0939, -0.32% CICHF, +1.44% 601939, -0.55% off 0.2%. Shares of the mainland Chinese banks recorded solid losses, as Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd. 1398, -1.43% IDCBF, +0.00% 601398, -0.47% gave up 1.4%, while both Bank of Communications Co. 3328, -1.40% BKFCF, +16.90% 601328, +0.17% and China Merchants Bank Co. 3968, -1.13% CIHHF, -4.82% 600036, -0.42% pulled back by 1.1% each, and Bank of China Ltd. 3988, -0.46% BACHY, -3.50% 601988, -1.00% traded 0.9% lower.
Mainland China’s top snack-food maker Want Want China Holdings Ltd. 0151, -4.62% WWNTF, -1.28% lost 3.3%, after issuing a profit warning for 2014. Rivals Tingyi Cayman Islands Holding Corp. 0322, -1.54% TCYMF, +11.94% and Taiwan-based Uni-President China Holdings Ltd. 0220, -1.22% UPCHY, +0.73% also fell 0.4% and 0.6%, respectively. Auto maker Geely Automobile Holdings Ltd. 0175, -0.91% GELYF, -3.02% reversed to a 1.5% loss after it unveiled a plan to acquire a SUV- and high-end-sedan manufacturing plant from its parent company, Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co. Its domestic competitors were mixed, as Great Wall Motor Co. 2333, -1.63% lost 2.6%, while BYD Co. 1211, -0.75% BYDDF, -3.31% 002594, +0.36% rose 1.3%, and Brilliance China Automotive Holdings Ltd. 1114, -0.15% BCAUF, +4.19% added 0.4%.
