A gauge of some of the biggest Hong Kong-listed Chinese stocks tumbled to a five-year low, hurt by fresh concerns over the omicron coronavirus strain.
The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index lost 1.5% to finish at its weakest level since May 2016. China Gas Holdings Ltd. and Meituan were the biggest drags on the gauge, which is now down 22% so far this year, the most among more than 90 global stock indexes tracked by Bloomberg.
The broader Hang Seng Index slid 1.6% to its lowest since September 2020 amid a wider Asia selloff following a report that quoted Moderna Inc. Chief Executive Officer Stephane Bancel as saying that existing Covid-19 vaccines will be less effective at tackling the omicron variant.
Chinese stocks in Hong Kong has driven major international brokerages such as Morgan Stanley to take a cautious stance on the shares. The broker has a December 2022 base-case price target for the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index at 9,000 points, which implies less than 8% of upside from the current level and would be down 26% from this year’s high.
The brokerage continues to prefer A shares versus offshore China stocks partly.Morgan Stanley analysts including Jonathan Garner wrote in a note earlier this month.
Hong Kong’s equity market has seen about $1.7 trillion wiped in value since its February peak.
精彩评论