Hong Kong stocks slide for third day as rebound spurred by government intervention fades; Li Auto jumps as profit hits record

The Hang Seng Index fell 0.3 per cent to 16,580.04 as of 9.57am local time, extending a 0.7 per cent decline over the previous two sessions The Hang Seng Tech Index fell 0.7 at 10.40am and the Shanghai Composite Index was little changed.

Tencent slid 1.6 per cent to HK$282.60 and e-commerce operator JD.com retreated 1.9 per cent to HK$91.30. Baidu sank 1.2 per cent to HK$106.10 and Meituan shed 1.3 per cent to HK$80.10.

The Hang Seng Index jumped to a seven-week high last week as sentiment improved after Chinese regulators deployed a slew of market intervention measures such as curbs on short selling and quantitative investments to prop up stocks. The rebound will be tested this week by company earnings results from Baidu, NetEase and Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing, which operates the local bourse.

The easing of curbs on property transactions, and the promotion of the tourism industry and capital inflows are expected to be among the measures announced by Financial Secretary Paul Chan in his budget speech on Wednesday morning, as Hong Kong seeks to entrench its position as a financial hub.

Other major Asian markets were mixed on Tuesday morning. Japan’s Nikkei 225 climbed 0.4 per cent, set for a third consecutive record close, while South Korea’s Kospi and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 both lost 0.2 per cent.