SINGAPORE — Shares of Chinese tech giant Alibaba in Hong Kong were in the spotlight once again on Monday. That came after Chinese regulators ordered Alibaba-affiliate Ant Group to rectify its businesses.
In early trading on Monday, Hong Kong-listed shares of Alibaba plunged 4.73%, adding to losses for Alibaba. The stock had also dived last Thursday following reports that Chinese regulators will probe the tech behemoth for suspected monopolistic behavior.
Shares of other Hong Kong-listed Chinese tech firms also declined: Tencent fell 3.24% while Meituan slipped 2.29%. The broader Hang Seng Tech index shed 1.74%.
Meanwhile, stocks in Asia edged higher on Monday morning as the final trading week of 2020 kicked off.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 gained 0.28% while the Topix index advanced 0.1%. South Korea’s Kospi rose 0.41%.
Mainland Chinese stocks were little changed in early trade, with the Shanghai composite up fractionally while the Shenzhen component was above the flatline. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index traded 0.22% higher.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan traded 0.18% higher.
Profits at Chinese industrial firms in November rose 15.5% as compared with a year earlier, according to data released by the country’s National Bureau of Statistics over the weekend.
Markets in Australia and New Zealand are closed on Monday for a holiday.
Currencies and oil
The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, was at 90.233 after declining from levels above 90.4 in recent days.
The Japanese yen traded at 103.57 per dollar after seeing levels below 103.4 against the greenback last week. The Australian dollar changed hands at $0.7603 after recovering from a plunge to levels below $0.75 last week.
Oil prices dipped in the morning of Asia trading hours, with international benchmark Brent crude futures down about 0.1% to $51.23 per barrel. U.S. crude futures also declined fractionally to $48.20 per barrel.
Source: CNBC