China stocks slip on tariffs, e-commerce warning

Chinese stock markets fell on Tuesday, with Canadian tariffs weighing on shares of electric vehicle and steel makers and downbeat comments about domestic demand dragging on e-commerce shares, while financials steadied Hong Kong's market.

The Shanghai Composite index .SSEC closed 0.24 per cent lower at 2,848.73. China's blue-chip CSI300 index .CSI300 fell 0.57 per cent, with the consumer staples sector .CSI000912 down 0.83 per cent.

The smaller Shenzhen index .SZSC ended down 1.26 per cent and the start-up board ChiNext Composite index .CNT was weaker by 0.943 per cent. The Hang Seng index .HSI closed up 75.94 points or 0.43 per cent at 17,874.67. The financial sector .HSNF ended 1.15 per cent higher and the property sector rose 0.84 per cent.

PDD Holdings PDD.O suffered a $55 billion wipeout overnight, after missing market estimates on revenue and warning of changing consumer demand and an uncertain environment.

Alibaba 9988.HK, down 4 per cent, and JD.Com 9618.HK, down 3.7 per cent, were the two biggest losers in the Hong Kong benchmark index. Trip.com 9961.HK, up 9 per cent, was the top gainer after posting a rise in profit.

Canada, following the lead of the US and European Union, said it would impose a 100 per cent tariff on imports of Chinese electric vehicles and 25 per cent on steel and aluminium.

An index tracking China's EV-related stocks .CSI930997 fell 1.2 per cent. Automaker Great Wall 601633.SS fell 0.6 per cent, though BYD 1211.HK and Li Auto 2015.HK pared early losses. The CSI Steel Index .CSI930606 fell 1 per cent.

Around the region, MSCI's Asia ex-Japan stock index .MIAPJ0000PUS was weaker by 0.34 per cent, while Japan's Nikkei index .N225 closed up 0.47 per cent.  The yuan CNY=CFXS was quoted at 7.1316 per US dollar, 0.14 per cent weaker than the previous close of 7.1218.  So far this year, the Shanghai stock index is down 4.2 per cent and the CSI300 has fallen 3.7 per cent. The Hang Seng .HSI is up 4.4 per cent.

About 23.07 billion shares were traded on the Shanghai exchange, roughly 83 per cent of the market's 30-day moving average of 27.67 billion shares a day. The volume in the previous trading session was 22.74 billion. About 2.70 billion Hang Seng index shares were traded, 116 per cent of the market's 30-day moving average of 2.32 billion shares a day.