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China car stocks tumble on weaker outlook for 2019 sales

Posted at 9:31 PM, Jul 25, 2019
and last updated 2019-07-25 23:31:51-04

Shares in Chinese carmakers skidded lower on Friday after an industry association cut its forecast for vehicle sales this year, citing the US-China trade war and tough new emission standards.

BAIC sank 4.2% in Hong Kong, while Great Wall Motors lost 1.4% and BYD and Geely both dropped 1.3%.

The China Association of Automobile Manufacturers said on Thursday it expected car sales to fall 5% in 2019. It had previously forecast that sales would be flat this year, after they dropped 2.8% in 2018 — the first decline in nearly three decades.

Here are some of the other big moves on Asian markets at 10:30 a.m. in Hong Kong today.

  • Shares in Natural Food International, China’s second largest health food producer, soared as much as 35% in Hong Kong after the company said Pepsi would spend $131 million buying a 26% stake in the company. Natural Food International said it was Pepsi’s first strategic investment in China.
  • WH Group, the world’s largest pork processing company, was the top gainer in Hong Kong, surging more than 4%. It was boosted by an announcement from the government of Guangdong, one of China’s largest pig producing provinces, unveiling 10 new measures to boost the supply of live pigs. Pork prices have been soaring due to a devastating outbreak of African swine fever.
  • Asian markets were broadly weaker, after the Dow and the Nasdaq bothrecorded their worst declines in a month on weak earnings. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index and the Shanghai Composite index fell 0.5% and 0.1%, respectively.
  • Reports of an escalation in a trade dispute between Japan and South Korea also weighed on markets. Japan’s Nikkei 225 dropped 0.5%, while South Korea’s Kospi Index fell 0.8%. Kyodo News reported that Japan will decide on August 2 to remove South Korea from a list of countries that enjoy preferential treatment and buy products that can be diverted for military use.