Hong Kong stocks retreat on AI worries, China markets rally in Year of the Horse
Tech heavyweights drag Hong Kong stocks lower as investors fret over AI disruption following Wall Street’s decline
The Hang Seng Index dropped 1.8 per cent to 26,590.32 at the close of trading, paring some of the 2.5 per cent gain recorded on Monday. The Hang Seng Tech Index fell 2.1 per cent. On the mainland, the CSI 300 Index rose 1 per cent while the Shanghai Composite Index jumped 0.9 per cent.
Technology heavyweights led the major losers. Chipmaker Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp dropped 2.4 per cent to HK$69.40, and search-engine firm Baidu slid 2.6 per cent to HK$129.70. E-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding fell 2.8 per cent to HK$148, and WeChat operator Tencent Holdings slipped 3.4 per cent to HK$520.
Limiting losses, property developer Henderson Land gained 2.1 per cent to HK$35.32 and PC maker Lenovo Group climbed 1.7 per cent to HK$9.53.
“Markets used to move on confirmed deterioration,” said Stephen Innes, managing partner at SPI Asset Management. “Now they can lurch on projected displacement. That is the adjustment investors are grappling with. Not just how AI will reshape industries, but how AI discourse itself is reshaping price action.”