Almost all shares in the Hang Seng index were trading lower by midday Monday.
Photo:
Vernon Yuen/Associated Press
Hong Kong shares faced a wave of selling after the conclusion of the Chinese Communist Party’s national congress meeting over the weekend.
The
Hang Seng
Index was down 5% by midday, bringing it below its lowest closing level since April 29, 2009. Shares also fell in mainland China. The benchmark CSI 300 was 1.7% lower and the Shanghai Composite Index was down around 0.9%.
Almost all shares in the Hang Seng Index were trading lower, but Chinese technology stocks were particularly hard hit. The shares of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.,
Baidu Inc.,
BIDU -2.29%
JD.Com Inc.
JD -0.02%
and
Meituan
were all down more than 9% by midday.
The selloff came after Chinese leader
Xi Jinping
cemented his control over the ruling Communist Party, appointing a number of loyalists to the party’s most powerful decision-making body and getting a convention-defying third term.
The congress meeting came near the end of a tumultuous year for China’s economy. Mr. Xi’s commitment to a zero-Covid policy has led to a series of lockdowns across the country, reducing consumer spending. His tougher stance on internet and technology companies and a move to deleverage the property sector have also caused pain for two sectors that were once among the best-performing in the…
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