Electric vehicle (EV) stocks traded in Hong Kong were hit hard by US President Donald Trump’s new tariff measures, which triggered a selloff in global markets.
BYD (HKG: 1211, OTCMKTS: BYDDY), Nio (NYSE: NIO), Xpeng (NYSE: XPEV), and Li Auto (NASDAQ: LI) all tumbled in early Hong Kong trading, along with the benchmark indexes that were hit hard.
BYD fell 11.15 percent to HK$333.00, Nio 11.30 percent to HK$25.50, Xpeng 11.40 percent to HK$72.25 and Li Auto 10.82 percent to HK$86.95 at press time.
Hong Kong’s benchmark stock indexes also tumbled, with the Hang Seng Index falling 9 percent at press time and the Hang Seng Tech Index dropping more than 11 percent.
Trump announced worse-than-expected reciprocal tariffs on all trading partners on April 2, targeting China with an additional rate of 34 percent.
Combined with the 20 percent tariffs he imposed on China earlier this year, it brings the total new tariffs to 54 percent.
China announced retaliatory measures on Friday, and will impose a 34 percent tariff on all imports of US products starting April 10.
At the same time, China’s Ministry of Commerce announced that it had placed 11 US companies on its list of unreliable entities, essentially banning them from doing business in China.
Amid the unprecedented tariff policy onslaught, a new shift in the global valuation system may be underway, with global funds revaluing based on geopolitics, CICC said in a research note today.
Looking at the history of trade frictions in 2018-2019, China’s market performance’s in the medium term is determined by domestic economic fundamentals and policy responses, the report noted.
New tariffs will inevitably pose a challenge to China’s economy, but compared to 2018 or compared to the past three years, China’s stock market has more favorable conditions, CICC said.
China urged the US to immediately correct its wrongdoings, saying the country will take resolute measures to defend its rights and interests.
