China and Hong Kong Indexes Dropped 1% In Volatile Trading

Li Chen
22 Jan, 2025
Hong Kong

Stock market indexes in China and Hong Kong turned lower amid uncertainties linked to trade tensions with the U.S. and Europe. 

The Hang Seng index plunged 1.6%, and the CSI index declined 1% after Internet and artificial intelligence-linked companies dropped between 2% and 8%. 

Market sentiment was on the decline after the U.S. unveiled a private sector initiative to build and develop infrastructure for the rapid escalation to implement artificial intelligence technologies. 

Stargate, a joint venture between OpenAI, Oracle, and SoftBank, announced its plan to invest at least $100 billion to build data centers. 

The announcement garnered widespread publicity in the tech world, but similar joint ventures in the past have failed to live up to the promises and generally end up unwinding with no measurable results. 

However, JD.com, Alibaba Group, NetEase, Tencent Holdings, Baidu.com, and Bilibili plunged between 2% and 6%. 

Stock market indexes in China and Hong Kong are likely to be volatile in the months ahead, as the incoming U.S. presidential administration is expected to announce several policies to thwart fast-rising China's advanced technology exports. 

Despite the tough talk, trade sanctions and trade barriers have generally failed to stem exports from Japan, South Korea, and China over the last two decades.

 

China Stock Movers 

The Hang Seng index plunged 1.6% to 19,787.49, and the mainland-focused CSI 300 index decreased 1% to 3,792.61.

Country Garden Holdings dropped 14% to HK $0.49 and erased nearly half of the gain in the previous session after the financially troubled residential property developer resumed trading. 

China Vanke decreased 3.3% to HK $5.22, China Resources Land fell 2.2% to HK $23.25, Henderson Land Development dropped 1.6% to HK $22.0, and Sun Hung Kai Properties eased 1% to HK $70.75.