(Updates to market close)
SHANGHAI, July 3 (Reuters) – Hong Kong shares closed down on Thursday, led by tech stocks, as investors fretted that intensifying competition among e-commerce giants could squeeze profit margins.
China stocks ended higher.
** China’s blue-chip CSI300 Index closed up 0.6%, while the Shanghai Composite Index was 0.2% higher. Hong Kong benchmark Hang Seng was down 0.6%.
** E-commerce giant Alibaba shares listed in Hong Kong fell nearly 3%, leading declines in Hong Kong, after the company announced a 50-billion-yuan ($6.98 billion) subsidy programme to merchants and customers on Wednesday.
** “Alibaba’s plan to offer $7 bn of subsidies for food delivery and online retail implies competition is heating up again among China e-commerce companies,” said UBS analysts.
** Shares of on-demand delivery giant Meituan dropped 2.5%, while JD.com fell 2.1%.
** Meanwhile, a prominent Chinese Communist Party publication called for a crackdown on competition that fuels price wars and squeezes profits in various industries, criticising large companies and local governments for unfair practices.
** China’s services activity expanded at the slowest pace in nine months in June, as demand weakened and new export orders declined amid a fragile trade truce with the United States, a private sector survey showed on Thursday.
** China’s semiconductor shares were little moved after U.S. chip design software developers said they have received notices lifting restrictions on exports to China.
** China is assessing the trade deal between the United States and Vietnam, and will safeguard its own rights and interests if needed, a spokesperson for China’s commerce ministry said on Thursday.
** Healthcare shares led gains onshore, up 1.2%, as Beijing ramped up policy support for the country’s innovative drugs.
** Biotech stocks also rose in Hong Kong, with Ascentage up 6.2%. ($1 = 7.1643 Chinese yuan renminbi) (Reporting by Shanghai Newsroom; Editing by Vijay Kishore)
