U.S.-listed Chinese firms extend losses amid trade concerns

NEW YORK, March 23 (Xinhua) -- U.S.-listed Chinese companies traded mostly lower on Friday, with 9 of the top 10 stocks by weight in the S&P U.S. Listed China 50 index ending the day with a downbeat note, as worries about U.S. President Donald Trump's trade move dented investor sentiment.

Shares of BeiGene, Ltd. and shares of JD.com dropped 3.88 percent and 3.86 percent respectively, leading the laggards in the top 10 stocks of the index, while shares of Yum China Holdings edged up 0.25 percent as the only advancer among the 10 stocks.

Shares of Alibaba and shares of Baidu, the two Chinese famous tech companies listed in the U.S. equity market, fell 1.87 percent and 2.55 percent respectively on Friday.

U.S. stocks kept plunging on Friday, with the Nasdaq tumbling over 2.4 percent, after the Trump administration announced plans to impose tariff on imported products from China.

Analysts said Trump's protectionism made investors nervous and history had showed that such trade policies could harm the economy.

At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 424.69 points, or 1.77 percent, to 23,533.20. The S&P 500 was down 55.43 points, or 2.10 percent, to 2,588.26. The Nasdaq Composite Index decreased 174.01 points, or 2.43 percent, to 6,992.67.

The CBOE Volatility index, widely considered the best fear gauge in the stock market, jumped 6.56 percent to 24.87 on Friday.

As of Thursday, the S&P U.S. Listed China 50 index stood at 3,194.49, marking a 1.68-percent decrease for the month-to-date returns and a 3.35-percent gain for the year-to-date returns. Enditem