Hong Kong stocks fell on Monday to start the week in red amid new limitations on Chinese investment in key US sectors including healthcare.
The Hang Seng Index slid 0.58%, or 136.31 points, at 23,341.61. The Hang Seng China Enterprises index also fell 0.55%, or 47.84 points, at 8,618.88.
Investor sentiment took a hit after US President Donald Trump instructed the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States to limit Chinese investments in the healthcare sector in the US, as well as others including energy and technology, Bloomberg reported Feb. 22.
The directive came as part of a national security presidential memorandum signed Friday.
The memo also indicates that the Trump-led administration is looking into broader potential limitations on US investments flowing to China. The sectors likely to be affected by these restrictions include the biotechnology, semiconductor, AI, quantum computing, and aerospace niches, the same report said.
Biopharmaceutical firm WuXi AppTec (HKG:2359) and vaccine maker WuXi Biologics (Cayman) (HKG:2269) were among those leading the decline, with shares falling 10% and 9%, respectively.
Investors also await the January reading of the personal consumption expenditures index in the US, expected to be released Friday, according to a CNBC report. The index is the US Fed's preferred measure of inflation.
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