Stocks in Hong Kong erased most of the day’s loss after China’s first set of post-tariff economic data held up, offsetting concerns about global financial market stability after the US lost its top-notch sovereign credit rating.

The Hang Seng Index closed 0.1 per cent lower at 23,332.72 on Monday, after slipping as much as 1.2 per cent, spurred by Moody’s rating downgrade of the US. The Hang Seng Tech Index lost 0.5 per cent. The CSI 300 Index, which tracks the 300 largest stocks in Shanghai and Shenzhen, declined 0.3 per cent.

Alibaba Group Holding slumped 3.4 per cent to HK$119.20, extending a decline precipitated by last week’s weaker-than-estimated earnings. Sunny Optical Technology Group, which makes camera modules for mobile phones, tumbled 3.3 per cent to HK$63.65 and electric-car maker Li Auto lost 3.2 per cent to HK$109.60.

China’s industrial output increased 6.1 per cent year on year in April, according to official data on Monday. That compared with a consensus estimate of 5.7 per cent growth in a Bloomberg poll of economists. Retail sales grew 5.1 per cent year on year in April and fixed-asset investments rose 4 per cent in the first four months, the statistics bureau said. That compared with the consensus estimates of 5.8 per cent and 4.2 per cent growth, respectively.

The April data offered a glimpse into the impact of US President Donald Trump’s so-called reciprocal tariffs on China’s economy, after levies were raised to as much as 145 per cent on imports from the Asian nation. The two nations reached a tentative deal early this month, pausing tariffs for 90 days.

Other major Asia-Pacific markets traded lower. Japan’s Nikkei 225 slipped 0.7 per cent, while South Korea’s Kospi retreated 0.9 per cent and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 lost 0.6 per cent.

Source: SCMP