* Hang Seng TECH index down 1.9% at midday; financials up 1.37%<\/p>\n
* SEC adopts Trump-era measures toward delisting<\/p>\n
* China apparel firms surge amid Xinjiang outcry<\/p>\n
SHANGHAI, March 25 (Reuters) – Hong Kong\u2019s Hang Seng index edged up on Thursday, as gains in financials and consumer stocks offset the impact of a tech rout following overnight Nasdaq losses, after the U.S. securities regulator moved to impose measures that could delist some Chinese firms from American exchanges.<\/p>\n
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Wednesdsay adopted measures under the Trump-era Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act, which aims to remove Chinese companies from U.S. exchanges if they fail to comply with American auditing standards for three years in a row.<\/p>\n
The Hang Seng index was up 0.04% at 27,928.26 by the midday break, with financials up 1.37%. It slipped as much as 1.48% earlier, dragged down by a 4.95% drop in the Hang Seng TECH index on the SEC news.<\/p>\n
The TECH index trimmed losses to end the morning session down 1.9%.<\/p>\n
Companies with U.S. listings led declines, with JD.com , Alibaba and NetEase falling between 4.45% and 2.97%.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, China\u2019s blue-chip CSI300 index fell 0.13% by midday and the Shanghai Composite Index was down just 0.01%.<\/p>\n
Chinese H-shares fell 0.9%.<\/p>\n
Investors are overreacting to the SEC news, said Alex Wong, director at Ample Finance Group, Hong Kong, adding that the move would have little overall impact on the territory.<\/p>\n
Tech firms also faced pressure from reports that China is considering creating a state-backed joint venture with domestic tech firms to oversee user data.<\/p>\n
Data monitoring would remain a \u201clingering concern\u201d for China\u2019s tech investors, said Dave Wang, portfolio manager at Singapore\u2019s Nuvest Capital.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe market is going through a \u2018sell first, ask questions later\u2019 phase … investors think (authorities) want to use the big tech firms to monitor citizens,\u201d he said, adding, users may leave such platforms.<\/p>\n
Chinese apparel and clothing companies, however, surged over a social media storm on Xinjiang cotton.<\/p>\n
ANTA Sports Products Ltd jumped 7.77% after it said it will continue to use Chinese cotton, including from Xinjiang.<\/p>\n