Alibaba, Nio Stocks Slide: Hang Seng Index Jittery After US Jobs Report Heightens Rate Hike Fears

Hong Kong’s benchmark Hang Seng Index opened lower on Monday, down 0.78% at press time, as a better-than-expected July jobs report in the U.S. intensified fears of aggressive rate hikes. 

Shares of Alibaba, XPeng and Nio lost over 3% in opening trade.

Macro News: China’s trade surplus grew at its fastest pace this year as the nation’s trade balance climbed to $101 billion in July. In dollar terms, exports rose 18% from a year earlier, while imports grew just 2.3%, reported Bloomberg.

Japan witnessed its first current account deficit in five months led by rising imports as higher prices of energy and raw materials exert pressure on the economy, reported Reuters.

Also Read: Warren Buffett-Backed BYD To Set Up New Factory Base In China With $2.2B Yearly Sales Target

Company News: SoftBank Group Corp. SFTBY is expected to report first-quarter earnings on Monday. The briefing will be live at 4:30 p.m. Japan local time and will be presented by Chairman and CEO Masayoshi Son.

Alibaba is working alongside Perennial Consortium to redevelop AXA Tower into Singapore’s tallest skyscraper, reported the South China Morning Post.

China’s largest manufacturer of new energy vehicles (NEV) BYD BYDDF is planning to set up a new commercial vehicle and parts production base in Huai’an, eastern Jiangsu province, reported the CnEVPost.

Global News: U.S. indices traded mixed on Friday dragged by better-than-expected July jobs report that raised fears of aggressive monetary tightening ahead. The Nasdaq fell 0.5% while the S&P 500 shed 0.16%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.23%.

Elsewhere in Asia, Australia’s ASX 200 lost 0.42%. Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 0.18%, while the South Korean Kospi shed 0.42%. China’s Shanghai Composite index was down 0.25%.