Chinese tech and e-commerce giants JD.com Inc (NASDAQ:JD), Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA), Baidu.com (NASDAQ:BIDU) and Tencent Holdings (HKG:0700, OTC:TCEHY) fell sharply on Wednesday on disappointing growth numbers out of the world’s second-biggest economy.
JD.com led the decline with a 6.1% fall, while Alibaba’s shares dropped 4%, Baidu lost 3.9% and Tencent Holdings ended 2.8% lower.
The Hang Seng was down 3.7% while the Shanghai Composite fell 2.1%.
In the US, JD.com's Nasdaq-listed shares were down 4.7% ahead of the market open, while Alibaba's NYSE-listed shares fell 3.3% and Baidu was 4.5% lower.
China’s economy expanded by 5.2% in the fourth quarter of 2023, below market forecasts of 5.3% but above the government’s official 5% target. It expanded by 4.9% in the third quarter of 2023.
“Chinese GDP data showed a country still struggling to maintain high levels of economic growth,” commented AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould.
Also weighing on sentiment, Chinese new home prices fell 0.45% month on month in December, after dropping 0.37% in November, and the steepest fall since February 2015.
“The outlook for 2024 remains uncertain as the world’s second-biggest economy is still contending with the ongoing property crisis, deflationary pressures and sluggish consumer and business confidence,” said Deutsche Bank’s Jim Reid.