February 6, 2025

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Chinese tech, EV stocks fall; Soho China drops on failed deal

Chinese tech, EV stocks fall; Soho China drops on failed deal

SINGAPORE — Shares in Asia-Pacific were mixed on Monday, with stocks in Hong Kong leading losses.

Hong Kong-listed shares of Alibaba dropped 4.23% following a Financial Times report that Beijing wants to break up Ant Group’s Alipay and force the creation of a separate loans app.

Other Chinese tech stocks also declined, with Tencent falling 2.45% while Meituan slipped 4.47%. The Hang Seng Tech index dropped 2.27% to 6,595.03.

Chinese electric vehicle stocks fell after the country’s industry minister said consolidation in the sector is needed as there are “too many” EV makers in China. BYD dropped 2.14% while Xpeng slipped 2.35%.

Meanwhile, Chinese property developer Soho China plunged 34.57% after a takeover deal by Blackstone Group fell through. Soho China said in a filing on Friday that Blackstone has decided not to go through with its $3 billion bid to buy the developer.

Hong Kong’s broader Hang Seng index dropped 1.5% to finish the trading day at 25,813.81. Mainland Chinese stocks closed mixed, with the Shanghai composite up 0.33% to 3,715.37 while the Shenzhen component declined 0.447% to 14,705.83.

Other Asia-Pacific markets

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 edged 0.22% higher on the day to close at 30,447.37 while the Topix index rose 0.29% to 2,097.71.

Shares of automakers Toyota and Honda fell 1.65% and 1.28% respectively. The two firms criticized a U.S. House electric vehicle tax plan that would benefit Detroit’s Big Three automakers, according to a Reuters report.

South Korea’s Kospi closed fractionally higher at 3,127.86. The S&P/ASX 200 in Australia edged 0.25% higher to close at 7,425.20.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell 0.75%.

Stock picks and investing trends from CNBC Pro:

Looking ahead for the week, the U.S. consumer price index for August is set to be out on Tuesday, while retail sales figures stateside are expected Thursday. A slew of Chinese economic data, including retail sales and industrial production for August, is also set to be out on Thursday.

Currencies and oil

https://www.cnbc.com/2021/09/13/asia-markets-us-and-china-economy-currencies-oil.html