Shares of Chinese technology giants such as Alibaba, Tencent and other chipmakers fell as a result of new U.S. export control measures aimed at slowing China’s technological and military progress.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index led the losses as Chinese semiconductor stocks listed there fell as a result of new U.S. export regulations. Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation, China’s largest chipmaker, fell as much as 5.23 percent in morning trading, while Hua Hong Semiconductor fell as much as 10% and Shanghai Fudan Microelectronics Company fell as much as 24.6 percent.
The Hang Seng Tech index fell 3.98 percent to 17,216.66, while the Hang Seng index as a whole fell 2.95 percent to 17,216.66. Meituan, a heavyweight in HSI, fell 6.71 percent.
The Shanghai Composite fell 1.66 percent to 2,974.15 on the first day of trading after the Golden Week holiday, while the Shenzhen Component fell 2.38 percent to 10,522.12. CSI 300 index, which tracks major mainland-listed stocks, fell 2.21 percent to 3,720.94.
The S&P/ASX 200 was 1.62 percent lower at 6,667.80, while MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell 1.88 percent.
The losses came after the Biden administration enacted a wide range of export controls, including a measure to prevent China from buying certain semiconductors manufactured around the world using U.S. equipment, which could amount to the most significant shift in U.S. policy toward exporting technology to China since the 1990s.
The sources for this piece include an article in Reuters.