Hong Kong sank on Friday on an otherwise mixed day for Asian markets, with Chinese ecommerce titan Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (阿里巴巴) tanking more than 10 percent after warning of a weaker outlook.
Alibaba on Thursday said that net profit tumbled 81 percent in the second quarter and revenue grew less than forecast as it was hit by slowing economic growth and a government crackdown on the technology sector.
The firm said income growth over the rest of the fiscal year fell short of expectations, adding that certain factors could further affect results including “changes in laws, regulations and [the] regulatory environment,” such as those related to privacy and data.
The 10.7 percent loss in Alibaba’s Hong Kong stock reflected a more than 11 percent fall in its New York shares and comes after a year that has seen the firm in the crosshairs of Beijing’s regulatory drive to rein in firms it thought were growing too powerful.
With Alibaba a big player on Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index, the market on Friday dropped 1.07 percent to 25,049.97, and lost 1.1 percent on the week.
Other tech firms experienced smaller losses.
In Taiwan, the TAIEX closed down 23.06 points, or 0.13 percent, at 17,818.31, but rose 1.71 percent from a week earlier.
India’s SENSEX lost 0.62 percent to 59,636.01 and 0.47 percent for the week.
However, Tokyo climbed as the government announced plans to inject US$490 billion into the Japanese economy to boost recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Nikkei 225 rose 0.5 percent to 29,745.87, posting a weekly gain of 0.46 percent, while the broader TOPIX increased 0.44 percent to 2,044.53, rising 0.19 percent weekly.
The Shanghai Composite Index rose 1.13 percent to 3,560.37, up 0.6 percent from a week earlier.
South Korea’s KOSPI grew 0.8 percent to 2,971.02, posting a weekly increase of 0.07 percent, while Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was up 0.23 percent at 7,396.5, but dropped 0.63 percent from a week earlier.
Additional reporting by staff writer with CNA
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