Chinese Internet Stocks Tumble amid EU and Growth Jitters (BIDU, SINA, RENN, DANG, YOKU, SOHU, CTRP, QIHU)

Published on Monday, 12 December 2011 22:49 Written by Gerard Lerod

New York, December 12^th (TradersHuddle.com) – Chinese Internet Stocks fell, with the high beta space losing more than expected. Doubts over the EU deal reached last week coupled with a narrowing of China’s trade balance, weighed on sentiment and the broad market. Exports fell to their lowest level since March 2009, spuring concern that European troubles were impacting growth in the global economy and the world’s second largest economy.

Baidu (NASDAQ:BIDU), the owner of the largest Chinese Internet search engine, lost 2.2% to $127.65, extending its 2.7% loss from last week. The stock traded below key technical levels, with the 20day moving average crossing the 50day moving average, ending at $129.76 and 130.52, respectively.  Baidu traded as low as $125.25, below Friday’s low.

Sina Corp. (NASDAQ:SINA), the Chinese online media company and owner of the Weibo microblogging service commonly referred to as the Twitter of China, tumbled 5.54% to $58.43, closing below calculated support at $60.42 and ending near its 52-week low at $56.05. Earlier in the month, Deutsche Bank upgraded the stock to a Buy from Hold.

Renren (NYSE:RENN), the leading real name social networking Internet platform in China, lost 1.0% to $3.64 after trading as low as $3.42. Last week, the stock tumble 2.9%, extending its yearly plunge to near 80%.

Dangdang (NYSE:DANG), the ecommerce site that it’s known as the Chinese Amazon.com, tumbled 5.19% to $4.93, giving part of its 11.6% jump in the prior week, which came after Dangdang surge 20% in one of the days on news that it will follow Amazon.com into the digital books, as it will launch an e-book platform later this month. The company started its business in China in a similar fashion than Amazon by focusing in selling books and becoming the largest online book reseller in the country to then diversified into general merchandise. Dangdang has calculated support at $4.56 and resistance at $5.78.

Youko.com (NYSE:YOKU), the Chinese version of you tube, tumbled 5.22% to $18.89 after trading as low as $18.68. Last week, the stock closed practically flat after increased volatility, with Youko catching a bid after positive comments from Goldman Sachs. Youko had a difficult November, falling 14.5% after the company missed earnings expectations on revenues that were above consensus, while it provided downside revenue growth guidance for the current quarter.

Sohu.com (NASDAQ:SOHU), the Chinese search engine and Internet portal, tumbled 4.16% to $50.22, giving back all of its Friday’s gains. Th stock has calculated support at $46.84 and resistance at $54.55. Earlier in the month, UBS upgraded Sohu to a Buy from Hold.

Ctrip.com (NASDAQ:CTRP), the one-stop China travel service provider, edged higher by 0.17% to $23.24 after logging a new yearly low of $22.84 on below average trading volume, with 1.95 million shares exchanging hands.

And Qihoo 360 Technology (NYSE:QIHU), the provider of Internet and mobile security products in China, lost 1.61% to $19 after trading as low as $18.33. Last week, the stock gained 5.3% after increased volatility following the company rejecting reports from Citron Research, who has admitted that it stands to profit from a drop in the share price.