China, HK shares drop as tech drags, investors eye policy support

SHANGHAI: China and Hong Kong stocks fell on Tuesday, pressured by the tech sector despite news of Nvidia’s potential investment in OpenAI, as investors locked in profits following a sharp rally over the past two months and awaited fresh policy support.

• China’s blue-chip CSI300 Index and the Shanghai Composite Index lost 1.2% each. Hong Kong’s benchmark Hang Seng Index was down 1%.

• Shares in onshore artificial intelligence firms dropped 2.5%, paring gains after a 61% rally year-to-date.

• Semiconductor stocks fell 2.5%, despite gaining 42% so far this year and news of Nvidia’s planned $100 billion investment in OpenAI - a move that had boosted tech sentiment in other markets.

• Investor sentiment was further dampened after a closely watched press conference by top financial regulators on Monday failed to offer any new policy support.

• China equities are highly focused on macro policies, but policy measures have overall fallen short of expectations so far, according to UBS analysts.

• Existing initiatives such as efforts to resolve local government debt and boost consumption have had limited marginal impact, they said. “Consensus suggests future incremental policies may focus on real estate and service consumption, although both face implementation challenges.”

• China’s central bank head pledged on Monday to use a range of monetary policy tools to ensure ample liquidity, try to drive down funding costs and support economic recovery.

• Tech majors traded in Hong Kong fell 2.2%, following an overnight drop of counterparts in New York.

• Brokers listed in Hong Kong were down 3.1%, after Reuters reported China asked brokers to pause real-world asset business.

• Shares of Nanjing Port Co Ltd and Ningbo Marine Co Ltd jumped 10% each, after state media reported an east China port launched its first arctic shipping route to Europe. Reuters