The three major indices of the US stock market moved higher last night, while stocks in the Asia-Pacific region were weak. The stock markets in China and Hong Kong also closed significantly lower. The Hang Seng Index (HSI) opened lower by 68 points today (26th) and continued to decline, reaching a low of 542 points during the session. The HSI closed at 24,856 points, down 479 points (1.9%), with a trading volume of 261.7 billion. The Shanghai Composite Index fell by 2.3% and the Technology Index dropped by 3.3%.
Tencent (00700) decreased by 2.0%, Alibaba (09988) fell by 4.6%, Meituan (03690) dropped by 3.7%, JD.com (09618) rose against the trend by 1.1%, Hong Kong Exchange (00388) declined by 1.9%, and HSBC Holdings (00005) slightly decreased by 0.2%. The best and worst-performing blue-chip stocks were China Mengniu Dairy (02319) rising by 2.6% and Kuaishou (01024) plummeting by 14.0%.
Pinduoduo (09992) continued its significant decline today, following a sharp drop yesterday. Several major banks have cut their target prices for the stock, including Citigroup, Morgan Stanley, Credit Suisse, and CICC, mainly due to lower-than-expected performance guidance.
China Life Insurance (02628) fell by 8.5% last quarter, with a net loss of 13.726 billion RMB, mainly due to a substantial increase in fair value losses on trading financial assets.
CLP Holdings (00002) announced an increase in the fuel adjustment fee starting from April 1, from 39.2 cents per kWh to 39.8 cents per kWh, leading to an increase in net electricity tariffs from 140.4 cents to 141 cents per kWh, representing an approximately 0.4% monthly increase, the first adjustment this year.
China Evergrande Group (02202) is reportedly seeking another debt extension, planning for a comprehensive restructuring involving over 11 billion RMB in debt.
Nissin Foods (01475) announced that its annual net profit reached 331 million RMB as of the end of 2025, a year-on-year increase of 64.9%. The basic earnings per share were 31.76 cents, with a final dividend of 15.88 cents.
The Mandatory Provident Fund (MPF) rating agency released the MPF ratings. As of March 23, with the final trading week of March approaching, the MPF recorded a provisional investment loss of approximately 6.33% according to the “All Funds Performance Index,” involving around 103.3 billion RMB, with an average loss of 21,542.7 RMB per person. It is expected to be the worst-performing month since September 2022 and the seventh largest monthly decline in history.
At the time of writing, Brent crude oil rose by 2.2% to $103.7 per barrel. Among the three major Chinese oil companies, PetroChina (00857) rose by 1.5%, CNOOC (00883) by 2.5%, and Sinopec (00386) fell by 2.4%.