Berliner Boersenzeitung - Tanking Alibaba drags Hong Kong as markets rally fades

EUR -
AED 4.171726
AFN 79.125406
ALL 98.656234
AMD 436.075076
ANG 2.032698
AOA 1042.087615
ARS 1358.990964
AUD 1.764687
AWG 2.04584
AZN 1.930073
BAM 1.959914
BBD 2.291991
BDT 138.709964
BGN 1.959856
BHD 0.428222
BIF 3378.863278
BMD 1.135789
BND 1.465263
BOB 7.843327
BRL 6.497399
BSD 1.135173
BTN 97.167121
BWP 15.246873
BYN 3.714866
BYR 22261.470052
BZD 2.280167
CAD 1.56133
CDF 3254.036356
CHF 0.933272
CLF 0.027892
CLP 1070.379081
CNY 8.182567
CNH 8.178399
COP 4718.204999
CRC 576.705563
CUC 1.135789
CUP 30.098416
CVE 110.496959
CZK 24.944169
DJF 202.150591
DKK 7.459376
DOP 67.011262
DZD 150.102466
EGP 56.476216
ERN 17.036839
ETB 151.898396
FJD 2.569152
FKP 0.84213
GBP 0.842381
GEL 3.112309
GGP 0.84213
GHS 11.63522
GIP 0.84213
GMD 81.776338
GNF 9835.560554
GTQ 8.718225
GYD 237.503213
HKD 8.906468
HNL 29.576087
HRK 7.545161
HTG 148.450325
HUF 404.250198
IDR 18564.021603
ILS 3.993276
IMP 0.84213
INR 97.137981
IQD 1487.021607
IRR 47845.123787
ISK 144.472321
JEP 0.84213
JMD 180.949856
JOD 0.805247
JPY 163.786434
KES 146.749904
KGS 99.325236
KHR 4546.50415
KMF 493.502916
KPW 1022.211565
KRW 1567.712939
KWD 0.34863
KYD 0.945978
KZT 580.363209
LAK 24527.272554
LBP 101707.216373
LKR 339.970685
LRD 227.024579
LSL 20.328094
LTL 3.353691
LVL 0.687028
LYD 6.218053
MAD 10.495749
MDL 19.694169
MGA 5190.851113
MKD 61.70528
MMK 2384.787915
MNT 4062.592126
MOP 9.17027
MRU 44.872977
MUR 51.973319
MVR 17.559272
MWK 1968.349358
MXN 22.018832
MYR 4.83449
MZN 72.588222
NAD 20.328274
NGN 1804.187913
NIO 41.777333
NOK 11.591996
NPR 155.466993
NZD 1.901587
OMR 0.436727
PAB 1.135163
PEN 4.111896
PGK 4.660969
PHP 63.370793
PKR 320.023086
PLN 4.249812
PYG 9070.040144
QAR 4.13775
RON 5.065279
RSD 117.233868
RUB 89.287711
RWF 1605.456094
SAR 4.261417
SBD 9.484712
SCR 16.147804
SDG 682.034551
SEK 10.905377
SGD 1.46506
SHP 0.892552
SLE 25.805174
SLL 23816.933725
SOS 648.75618
SRD 42.272371
STD 23508.54512
SVC 9.932764
SYP 14767.215417
SZL 20.321481
THB 37.286259
TJS 11.352381
TMT 3.980941
TND 3.393624
TOP 2.660137
TRY 44.568587
TTD 7.708113
TWD 33.956678
TZS 3060.952345
UAH 47.15626
UGX 4126.626425
USD 1.135789
UYU 47.271106
UZS 14494.000563
VES 107.725667
VND 29581.632016
VUV 137.263994
WST 3.142705
XAF 657.325305
XAG 0.034393
XAU 0.000346
XCD 3.069528
XDR 0.817487
XOF 657.336904
XPF 119.331742
YER 276.961812
ZAR 20.464952
ZMK 10223.471293
ZMW 30.222913
ZWL 365.723687
  • SCS

    -0.0550

    10.305

    -0.53%

  • RBGPF

    -0.2380

    65.43

    -0.36%

  • VOD

    0.0450

    10.385

    +0.43%

  • AZN

    1.6550

    72.525

    +2.28%

  • NGG

    0.5945

    71.11

    +0.84%

  • GSK

    0.9800

    40.98

    +2.39%

  • RELX

    -0.0400

    53.89

    -0.07%

  • RYCEF

    0.1060

    11.686

    +0.91%

  • CMSC

    0.0000

    22.09

    0%

  • RIO

    -0.8400

    59.36

    -1.42%

  • CMSD

    -0.0240

    22.086

    -0.11%

  • BCE

    0.2850

    21.785

    +1.31%

  • JRI

    0.1200

    12.9

    +0.93%

  • BCC

    -0.7300

    87.12

    -0.84%

  • BTI

    0.0750

    45.045

    +0.17%

  • BP

    -0.1300

    29.04

    -0.45%

Tanking Alibaba drags Hong Kong as markets rally fades
Tanking Alibaba drags Hong Kong as markets rally fades / Photo: Bertha WANG - AFP

Tanking Alibaba drags Hong Kong as markets rally fades

Asian stocks fell Friday as a rally fuelled by the likely end of US interest rate hikes ran out of puff, while Alibaba dragged Hong Kong down after saying it would cancel the planned spinoff of its cloud computing arm.

Text size:

After an exciting few days on trading floors, the week headed for a tepid finish, with Wall Street drifting even as a forecast-beating jump in US jobless claims added to optimism the central bank would not tighten again.

The latest labour market figures follow weaker-than-expected prints on consumer and producer price inflation, which indicated more than a year of rate hikes were having the desired effects.

The readings sparked a surge across markets and sent Treasury yields tumbling, with some traders even entertaining the idea of several cuts to borrowing costs next year.

"This unexpected increase may further reinforce the view that the economic situation may require or at least suggest a shift in the Federal Reserve policy is warranted," said Stephen Innes at SPI Asset Management.

"When taken with cool reads on consumer and producer prices, this week's claims update argues, at minimum, against additional Fed hikes."

However, traders remain on edge that the Fed has left the door open to a possible hike if data takes a turn for the worse, leading to warnings the economy could be in danger of slipping into recession.

Those worried about a downturn pointed to unemployment benefits being at their highest in two years, factory production dropping more than forecast and homebuilder sentiment at its weakest in 2023.

In early trade, Sydney, Seoul, Singapore, Manila, Jakarta and Wellington were in the red. Tokyo was marginally lower.

- Taken aback' -

Hong Kong led the losses as market-heavyweight Alibaba was hammered more than nine percent after its shock decision not to spin off its cloud computing arm because of the US-China chip war.

In one of its most wide-ranging restructurings, Alibaba said in March it planned to split the vast group into six distinct entities that would be able to separately pursue funding through public listings.

But on Thursday, it called off the creation of its Cloud Intelligence arm in light of "the recent expansion of US restrictions on export of advanced computing chips".

Washington has cited national security grounds in moving to bar the shipment to China of powerful chips, including those from California-based Nvidia, which are crucial to the development of artificial intelligence.

The firm said in an earnings release Thursday that the spinoff "may not achieve the intended effect of shareholder value enhancement".

"Accordingly, we have decided to not proceed with a full spin-off, and instead we will focus on developing a sustainable growth model for Cloud Intelligence Group under the fluid circumstances," it added.

The announcement surprised traders, and its US-listed shares tanked more than nine percent, as it was one of the most high-profile victims of the China-US standoff.

It was the latest blow to the firm, which has in recent years been under the hard gaze of Beijing and hit by a series of restrictions on the domestic tech sector

"I was quite taken aback," said Kevin Net, at Tocqueville Finance. "My initial thoughts are that the whole corporate restructuring... could be at risk."

And Forsyth Barr Asia's Willer Chen simply said: "The market is scratching its head."

Crude prices inched higher but made very little headway into Thursday's collapse of more than almost five percent that came on the back of demand worries, China's economic woes and rising US stockpiles.

West Texas Intermediate fell into a bear market having shed more than 20 percent from its recent peak, with pledges from Saudi Arabia and Russia to maintain output cuts unable to provide enough support.

- Key figures around 0230 GMT -

Tokyo - Nikkei 225: FLAT at 33,422.93 (break)

Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: DOWN 1.9 percent at 17,489.00

Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 0.3 percent at 3,041.32

Dollar/yen: DOWN at 150.47 yen from 150.76 yen on Thursday

Euro/dollar: UP at $1.0853 from $1.0851

Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.2409 from $1.2411

Euro/pound: UP at 87.45 pence from 87.41 pence

West Texas Intermediate: UP 0.3 percent at $73.09 per barrel

Brent North Sea crude: UP 0.3 percent at $77.61 per barrel

New York - Dow: DOWN 0.1 percent at 34,945.47 (close)

London - FTSE 100: DOWN 1.0 percent at 7,410.97 (close)

-- Bloomberg News contributed to this story --

(T.Burkhard--BBZ)