Large block trades tied to Archegos raise worries about trading this week

(Reuters) - A number of large block trades on Friday, which investors said caused big drops in the stocks of a clutch of companies, were linked to the Archegos Capital investment fund, a source familiar with the situation said, with the moves raising worries about volatile trading in the coming days.

Shares in ViacomCBS and Discovery tumbled around 27% each on Friday, while U.S.-listed shares of China-based Baidu and Tencent Music plunged during the week, dropping as much as 33.5% and 48.5%, respectively, from Tuesday`s closing levels. Baidu was trading slightly lower in Hong Kong at the open.

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Investors and analysts cited blocks of Viacom and Discovery shares being put in the market on Friday for likely exacerbating the decline in those stocks. Viacom was also downgraded by Wells Fargo on Friday.

The block trades were linked to sales of holdings by Archegos, a source familiar with the situation said, confirming reports elsewhere. CNBC reported on Saturday that the selling pressure was due to liquidation of positions by family office Archegos Capital Management, citing a source with direct knowledge of the situation. The link with Archegos was also earlier reported by IPO Edge.

A person at Archegos who answered the phone on Saturday declined to comment. Archegos was founded by Bill Hwang, who founded and ran Tiger Asia from 2001 to 2012, when he renamed it Archegos Capital and made it a family office, according to a page capture of the fund`s website. Tiger Asia was a Hong Kong-based fund that sought to profit on bets on securities in Asia.

Prior to starting Tiger Asia, Hwang was an equity analyst for Tiger Management according to Archegos` website. Tiger Management, run by Julian Robertson, was a hugely successful hedge fund, which returned investor money and shut in 2000.

Hwang in 2012 settled insider trading charges by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission according to a press release at the time. He and his firms at the time agreed to pay $44 million to settle, according to the release.

VOLATILITY CONCERNS

Some market participants said last week`s wild moves were likely to make investors increasingly cautious.

The story has been taken from a news agency