HK Falters Due To Alibaba Weakness, Mixed Trends Elsewhere

Asia Pac equities are mixed. Hong Kong shares are down sharply due to weakness in Alibaba. Trends are mixed elsewhere, although those markets posting gains are up only modestly at this stage. US equity futures aren't far away from flat. Eminis, +0.1%, last near 4528.10, while Nasdaq futures are close to unchanged.

• The HSI is off 2.17% at the break, with Alibaba down 10%, after the company scraped spinning off its cloud unit (see this BBG link for more details). This reportedly follows US export restrictions to China in terms of semiconductors. The HS China Enterprise Index is off by 2.34% at this stage.
• For mainland shares, losses are evident, but are much more muted. At the break the CSI 300 is off 0.32%. The real estate sub index continues to weaken, down a further 0.87%. In index terms we aren't too far away from earlier 2023 lows just under 4000.
• Elsewhere, the Topix is modestly higher, last near +0.40%. The Taiex is +0.25% firmer in Taiwan, continuing a positive run on the back of broader tech gains.
• South Korean shares have faltered though, the Kospi off 0.75%. Offshore investors have sold $212.7mn of shares today, curbing week to date inflows. Institutional investors have also been net sellers.
• The ASX 200 is close to flat, with energy plays down on oil price weakness. Mining names rose though.