Hong Kong Stocks Extend Sell-Off
The Hang Seng Index fell 0.5% to around 22,822 on Friday, extending losses after Thursday’s sharp sell-off as persistent weakness in technology shares weighed on sentiment. Concerns over the scale and financing of artificial intelligence investment continued to pressure global tech stocks, following a steep overnight decline on Wall Street. Meanwhile, Brent crude surged 4% to US$114 a barrel after Houthi attacks in Saudi Arabia heightened concerns over Middle East supply disruptions, raising inflation risks. On the domestic front, Chinese AI startup DeepSeek had raised about US$15 billion offered a potential positive signal for the domestic AI sector, although it failed to offset broader market weakness. Notable laggards included SMIC (-3.0%), Genscript Biotech (-9.7%), Lenovo (-3.1%), AIA (-0.6%), and Wuxi Biologics (-1.5%). For the week, Hang Seng declined by more than 5%.
The Hang Seng Index fell 0.5% to around 22,822 on Friday, extending losses after Thursday’s sharp sell-off as persistent weakness in technology shares weighed on sentiment. Concerns over the scale and financing of artificial intelligence investment continued to pressure global tech stocks, following a steep overnight decline on Wall Street. Meanwhile, Brent crude surged 4% to US$114 a barrel after Houthi attacks in Saudi Arabia heightened concerns over Middle East supply disruptions, raising inflation risks.
On the domestic front, Chinese AI startup DeepSeek had raised about US$15 billion offered a potential positive signal for the domestic AI sector, although it failed to offset broader market weakness. Notable laggards included SMIC (-3.0%), Genscript Biotech (-9.7%), Lenovo (-3.1%), AIA (-0.6%), and Wuxi Biologics (-1.5%). For the week, Hang Seng declined by more than 5%.