China, Hong Kong stocks fall as investors assess Nvidia scandal

By Reuters News09:21 (UTC), 12 November 2026 Updated

FILE PHOTO: The sign of Beijing Stock Exchange is seen at its entrance during an organised media tour, in Beijing, China February 17, 2022. REUTERS/Florence Lo/File Photo

By Summer Zhen

HONG KONG, Nov 12 (Reuters) - Chinese stocks snapped a three-day advance while Hong Kong stocks dropped on Thursday, dragged down by market caution as investors assessed the potential fallout from a scandal involving US chipmaker Nvidia's chief executive.

** China's blue-chip CSI 300 Index .CSI300 closed down 0.8% and the Shanghai Composite Index .SSEC fell 0.7%.

** Hong Kong's benchmark Hang Seng .HSI declined 1.3%, while the Hang Seng Tech .HSTECH dropped 2.4%.

** Investors worry Nvidia NVDA.O CEO Jensen Huang's scandal could weigh on the business outlook of the US chip giant's clients.

** Hang Seng Index heavyweight Alibaba Group 9988.HK tumbled 7%, logging its biggest daily loss since August, as concerns mounted that cloud operators' access to advanced chips could face tighter US restrictions.

** "Tighter US chip restrictions could accelerate domestic semiconductor substitution while making it harder for Chinese cloud companies to access advanced computing technology," Charu Chanana, chief investment strategist at Saxo, said in a note.

** Large language model startups Z.AI 2513.HK and Minimax 0100.HK lost 9% and 8% respectively.

** In contrast, shares in A-share listed chip suppliers surged on Thursday, as the Nvidia crisis boosted expectations for domestic substitution.

** Moore Threads 688795.SS, MetaX 688802.SS and Cambricon 688256.SS all jumped more than 8%.

** Outside of tech, gold .CSI931238, game .CSI930901 and robotics shares .CSI930901 led declines.

** In Hong Kong, conglomerate CK Hutchison 0001.HK lost 4% after it reportedly paused a planned dual listing of retailer AS Watson Group.

** Larry Hu, Macquarie Group's chief China economist, said Chinese equities' performance has been "disappointing" so far this year, largely due to the lack of stimulus policy to support domestic demand.

** Going into 2027, the strength of exports "will determine how much domestic stimulus Beijing will provide to meet the GDP growth target" and then drive the performance of Chinese equities, he said in a note.