Alibaba, Baidu, JD, Tencent And Other Chinese Stocks Tumble As Trump's Tariff Threats Renew US-China Trade Fears
Major Chinese tech stocks, including Alibaba, Baidu, JD, and Tencent, fell sharply due to renewed US-China trade tensions, with Hong Kong's Hang Seng index down 2.28%. The decline followed President Trump's tariff threats, prompting a sell-off in the region. Despite China's Ministry of Commerce stating they are not afraid of a trade war, the negative sentiment persisted. Trump's later comments on social media seemed to ease concerns, leading to a rise in US stock futures, but did little to reverse the downturn in Asian markets.
Major Chinese technology and auto stocks tumbled on Monday as renewed trade hostilities between Washington and Beijing sent jitters across Asian markets. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index plunged 2.28%, and mainland China's CSI 300 saw a decline of 0.95%.
Tech Companies Lead The Sell-Off
Leading the sell-off were some of China’s most prominent companies. E-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.‘s (NYSE:BABA) Hong Kong-listed stock fell 3.87%, while search engine leader Baidu Inc. (NASDAQ:BIDU) saw its shares drop by 4.61%.
Other significant decliners included JD.com Inc. (NASDAQ:JD), which fell 4.78%, and Tencent Holdings, down 3.03%. The slide extended to other tech and electric vehicle firms, with Kuaishou Technology dropping 5.66%, Pinduoduo Inc. (NASDAQ:PDD) falling 5.23%, NIO Inc. (NYSE:NIO) declining 5.80%, and Li Auto Inc. (NASDAQ:LI) down by 4.50%.
China Says Not ‘Afraid’ Of Trade War
The market downturn followed a fresh escalation in trade friction. According to reports, China's Ministry of Commerce on Sunday stated, “we are not afraid of” a trade war after President Donald Trump threatened to impose new retaliatory tariffs.
Beijing accused the U.S. of a “textbook double standard” following Trump’s promise of 100% tariffs after China implemented new export controls on rare earth minerals.
The negative sentiment rippled across the region, with South Korea's Kospi dropping 1.10% and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 closing down 0.84%. Markets in Japan were closed for a holiday.
Trump De-Escalates The Situation
In a subsequent Truth Social post, President Trump appeared to soften his stance, telling investors, “Don't worry about China, it will all be fine!”
This led to a rally in U.S. stock futures, with Dow Jones, S&P 500, and Nasdaq 1000 futures trading higher.
However, the move did little to immediately reverse the slide in Asian markets, which had already priced in the heightened risk of a prolonged trade dispute. The sell-off in Asia onMonday followed a rough session on Wall Street on Friday.
- Wall Street Expects Trump's ‘Massive' Tariff Hike Threat Against China To Hurt US More, Says Expert: ‘Dollar Is Not Looking Healthy'
Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
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