24.02.202608:18:24UTC+00Hang Seng Retreats 1.8% as Trade Tensions Flare

The Hang Seng Index tumbled 491 points, or 1.8%, to close at 26,590 on Tuesday, wiping out most of the previous session’s gains. The decline followed a sharp sell-off on Wall Street on Monday, driven by renewed tariff concerns and rising geopolitical tensions.

After touching a near two-week high, the benchmark reversed course amid broad-based weakness across consumer, technology, and financial stocks. Investors largely ignored the added liquidity from the reopening of Chinese and Japanese markets after holidays, refocusing instead on fresh strains between Beijing and Tokyo. Sentiment was rattled by China’s move to block exports of dual-use items to 20 Japanese companies over alleged military links.

The overall losses were partially offset by solid gains in mainland Chinese shares, supported by expectations that a potential reset in U.S. tariffs could ultimately favor China.

Among individual names, CK Hutchison fell 2.7% after Panama canceled the company’s port contracts following a court decision. Technology stocks mirrored U.S. weakness related to AI valuations, with Kingdee International sinking 8.0%, SenseTime dropping 6.1%, Kuaishou Technology slipping 2.6%, and Alibaba’s Hong Kong-listed shares declining 2.4%.