Market grappled under risk averse sentiments due to worries about the escalation of the Ukraine conflict after Joe Biden made a surprise visit to Ukraine to see President Zelenskiy which comes just after China had talked of a peace plan for the Ukraine-Russia conflict.
At closing bell, the benchmark Hang Seng Index fell 357.47 points, or 1.71%, to 20,529.49. The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index was down 138.87 points, or 1.97%, to 6,925.07.
Among blue chips, JD.com slumped 9.4% to HK$188, Alibaba Group fell 5% to HK$94.40 and Tencent dropped 4.5% to HK$360, while Meituan slipped 4% to HK$139.90.
HSBC fell 2.4% to HK$57.35, despite making higher profit last quarter. Hong Kong's biggest lender HSBC said pre-tax profit rose to US$5.2 billion in the final quarter of 2022, versus US$2.7 billion in the same quarter in 2021. It has proposed to pay a special dividend, subject to a successful sale of its business in Canada.
Chinese developers surged as more cities cut mortgage rates for first time homebuyers to revive the housing market. Country Garden climbed 0.8% to HK$2.68 and China Resources Land advanced 2.2% to HK$37.70.
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