HONG KONG, – China and Hong Kong stocks fell on Monday, joining a broader equity rout in the region as concerns heightened ahead of U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff policy announcement scheduled for April 2.
** At the midday break, both China’s blue-chip CSI300 index and the Shanghai Composite index slipped 1% to their lowest in nearly one month.
** The consumer staples sector lost 1.3% and the artificial intelligence index down 1.9%, leading declines onshore.
** In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index lost 1.73% to the lowest since March 4, while the Hang Seng Tech Index tumbled over 3% to the lowest level in one-and-a-half months.
** Market heavyweight Alibaba slid 3.6% and Xiaomi tumbled 4.8%. CK Hutchison fell as much as 4.7% after likely ports deal signing delay.
** Trump is set to announce a massive tariff plan targeting all countries on Wednesday, on top of increased tariffs on all goods from China, he said over the weekend.
** China is facing “a stress test” as the markets now expect Trump to announce more reciprocal tariffs on April 2, analysts at Citi said in a note to clients on Monday.
** Around the region, MSCI’s Asia ex-Japan stock index was weaker by 1.84% while Japan’s Nikkei index fell 4.08%.
** Still, the Hang Seng Index has advanced nearly 15% so far this quarter on the back of AI optimism and record mainland inflows, on track to rank as the best performer among global major markets.
** Elsewhere, China’s manufacturing activity expanded at the fastest pace in a year this month with new orders boosting production, giving the world’s No. 2 economy some reprieve as it deals with an intensifying U.S. trade war.
