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The Hang Seng Index fell 0.9 per cent to 26,238.05 as of 10.04am local time, taking the loss for the week to 1.2 per cent. The Hang Seng Tech Index dropped 0.8 per cent.
On the mainland, the CSI 300 Index slid 0.3 per cent and the Shanghai Composite Index retreated 0.4 per cent.
Biotech firm Wuxi Biologics sank 3.9 per cent to HK$38.46 and affiliate Wuxi AppTec shed 3.4 per cent to HK$107.60 after US President Donald Trump said that a 100 per cent tariff would be placed on branded or patented pharmaceuticals. Alibaba Group Holding fell for a second day after rising to an almost four-year high earlier in the week, dropping 1.3 per cent to HK$169.80. Tencent Holdings retreated 0.4 per cent to HK$647.50. Smartphone and electric-vehicle maker Xiaomi tumbled 4 per cent to HK$57.
US stocks fell for a third straight day on Thursday, the longest losing stretch in a month, even as economic data showed resilience of growth. The S&P 500 is now valued at 23 times estimated earnings for the following 12 months, a level only seen in the dotcom bubble in the late 1990s and the Covid-19 period when the Federal Reserve cut the interest rate to zero.
Other major Asian markets all fell. Japan’s Nikkei 225 slipped 0.1 per cent, while South Korea’s Kospi retreated 2 per cent and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 lost 0.1 per cent.
