Nio, Alibaba stocks drop as part of broad selloff in the ADS of China-based companies

While August’s decline was better than the 10% drop expected by economists, and marked an improvement from the 14.5% drop in July, it still marked the fourth-straight month that exports fell. The Shanghai SE Composite Index CN:SHCOMP closed overnight down 1.1% and Hong Kong’s benchmark Hang Seng Index HK:HSI slid 1.3%.

Also read: China’s yuan heads for multiyear lows versus dollar as sentiment darkens.

The drop in exports comes at a time of growing concerns of trade tensions between the U.S. in China. After U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo visited Beijing last week, reports surfaced this week that China had banned government officials from using Apple Inc.’s AAPL, -2.92% iPhones at work.

In the U.S., the Invesco Golden Dragon China ETF PGJ, which tracks U.S.-exchange listed companies based in China, dove 3.9% in midday trading with 66 of its 74 equity components losing ground. The ETF sank 6.3% amid a three-day losing streak.

Nio’s ADS NIO, -4.73%, which was the ETF’s most-active component, sank 5.2%, to put it on track for the lowest close since July 7, on trading volume of 28.9 million shares. The electric vehicle maker’s stock has given up 8.8% over the past three days and has tumbled 35.1% since closing at an 11-month high of $15.46 on Aug. 3.

Among other China-based EV makers, Xpeng Inc.’s stock XPEV, -7.86% slumped 8.1% and Li Auto Inc. shares LI, -3.36% fell 3.0%.

The ADS of PDD Holdings Inc. PDD, -4.90%, which had the heaviest weighting in the Golden Dragon China ETF (PGJ), was knocked 5.4% lower. The mobile-marketplace company’s stock has lost 7.0% since it closed Sept. 1 at $103.29, which was the highest close since Jan. 27.

Another PGJ heavyweight, shares of e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. BABA, -4.74% were hit with a 4.5% loss, and have declined 5.1% amid their own three-day losing streak.

Country Garden Holdings Co. Ltd.’s U.S.-listed stock CTRYF, -19.35%, while not a PGJ component, tumbled 20.4%, after running up 45% over the past two sessions. The rally came after the troubled real-estate developer said over the weekend that it won creditor approval to restructure a near-$550 billion bond.

Elsewhere, shares of video- streaming platform Bilibili Inc. BILI, -6.78% were down 6.6%, of real-estate services platform KE Holdings Inc. BEKE, -5.30% dropped 4.2%, of internet search and online marketing company Baidu Inc. BIDU, -3.38% gave up 3.4%, of travel-related services provider Trip.com Group Ltd. TCOM, -5.38% slid 5.0% and of e-commerce company JD.com Inc. JD, -4.29% lost 4.1%.

Meanwhile, the PGJ has gained 3.4% over the past three months, while the S&P 500 index SPX has tacked on 4.4%.