HK Market Loses Early Gains As Meituan Plunges

Local shares failed to hold on to their morning gains and finished with small losses on Monday, while the rest of the region was mixed after a below-forecast US jobs report raised hopes that near-zero interest rates will remain for the time being.

The Hang Seng Index started the day up 166 points and rose as many as 231 points. It then reversed course to lose as many as 157 points.

But it pared back most of those losses to end down almost 15 points at 28,595.

Market turnover was HK$163.5 billion.

The day’s worst performing blue-chip was Meituan, which saw heavy selling.

The food delivery platform sank 7.1 percent, despite its chairman clarifying that a poem he posted, then later removed, on social media was a reminder of unexpected dangerous rivals.

Traders interpreted Wang Xing's post as a complaint against Beijing's clampdown on tech giants.

Other mainland tech firms were also under pressure. Alibaba fell 2.1 percent, Tencent retreated 0.8 percent, and Xiaomi gave up 0.2 percent.

But oil companies outperformed as crude prices rose following a cyberattack that forced the closure of fuel supply pipelines in the US.

CNOOC and PetroChina each jumped more than 4.5 percent, making them the best performing stocks on the benchmark.

Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical soared 25.1 percent to a record high, after the company said its subsidiary has reached a deal to produce BioNTech's vaccine in the mainland.

Markets across the border struggled to make significant advances as concerns over mainland regulators' antitrust crackdown dragged down tech shares.

The Shanghai Composite index edged up 0.3 percent, but the blue-chip CSI300 index trimmed just under 0.1 percent. The Shenzhen Composite put on 0.2 percent.

Around the region, Japan's Nikkei inched up 0.6 percent, the Kospi in Seoul rallied 1.6 percent, and Australia added 1.3 percent. But Taiwan slipped 0.3 percent and Singapore was also lower.

In currencies, sterling was firmer, despite pro-independence parties winning a majority in Scotland's parliament over the weekend adding to political uncertainties in the United Kingdom.

Meanwhile, the US dollar weakened to a two-month low following the disappointing US jobs report.