HK stocks tumble amid deflationary pressure in China

Hong Kong stocks declined by 447 points on Monday as China’s deflationary pressures deepened in February and concerns over US-China tariffs weighed on investor sentiment.

The benchmark Hang Seng Index declined 1.84 percent to close at 23,783 points, with a main board turnover of HK$301.81 billion.

The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index dropped 189 points, or 2.12 percent, to 8,725 while the Tech Index lost 151 points, or 2.51 percent, to 5,885.

Technology stocks weighed on the market, with Tencent (0700) down 3.19 percent, Alibaba (9988) losing 3.93 percent, Meituan (3690) falling 4.69 percent, Xiaomi (1810) dropping 2.76 percent, JD.com (9618) sliding 4.59 percent, Kuaishou Technology (1024) declining 0.94 percent, and Bilibili (9626) edging down 0.33 percent.

In the mainland, the Shanghai Composite Index closed at 3,366 points, down 6 points or 0.19 percent, while the Shenzhen Component Index ended at 10,825 points, losing 18 points or 0.17 percent.

STAFF REPORTER