Hong Kong stocks tumbled on Monday, as a flare-up in US-China trade tensions kept investors on edge.

The Hang Seng Index fell 1.5%, while the Hang Seng Tech Index dropped 1.8%.

In terms of star stocks, Xiaomi fell 6%; Bilibili fell 5%; Kuaishou, NIO, JD.com, and Li Auto fell 4%; XPeng fell 3%; Baidu, Tencnet, Meituan, BYD, and Alibaba fell 2%; NetEase fell 1%; while Mixue and SMIC rose 3%; Hua Hong Semiconductor rose 8%.

The markets reacted to US President Donald Trump’s threat on Friday to impose a 100 per cent tariff on all Chinese imports and restrict exports of critical software from November 1. The threat was a response to Beijing’s move to tighten exports of rare earths and their processing technology. These metals are used to make defence equipment and green-energy products.

However, Trump has indicated that he is willing to engage in talks with China to resolve the dispute. Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping are scheduled to meet at the Apec summit in South Korea later this month.