Alibaba, Kuaishou, SMIC drop in Hong Kong tech-stock sell-off as AI fears grip



Hong Kong stocks fell on Thursday in a technology sell-off as investors grew increasingly jittery about stretched valuations, heavy spending and worries about how artificial intelligence could undermine traditional business models.

The Hang Seng Index lost 0.8 per cent to 26,627.95 at the open, erasing the 0.1 per cent gain a day earlier. The Hang Seng Tech Index fell 1.8 per cent. On the mainland, both the CSI 300 Index and the Shanghai Composite Index lost 0.7 per cent.

Technology leaders fell, mirroring a Wall Street sell-off overnight. E-commerce major Alibaba Group Holding slumped 2.5 per cent to HK$155.50, while short-video platform Kuaishou Technology dropped 2.3 per cent to HK$71.50. Chinese home-grown chipmaker Semiconductor Manufacturing International slid 2.3 per cent to HK$67.20, and food-delivery service provider Meituan lost 2.1 per cent to HK$90.20.

Search-engine operator Baidu bucked the trend, jumping 2.3 per cent after unveiling a US$5 billion share buy-back plan extending through 2028, alongside the introduction of its first-ever dividend policy. Blind-box toymaker Pop Mart International rose 1.2 per cent to HK$240, while oil and gas producer CNOOC added 0.8 per cent to HK$23.86.

Overnight in the US, the Nasdaq extended losses to drop 1.5 per cent, while the S&P 500 Index declined 0.5 per cent. Shares of Google owner Alphabet fell 2.2 per cent, and Applovin slumped 16 per cent.

“Tech just got hit with a different kind of sell-off,” said Stephen Innes, managing partner at SPI Asset Management, in a note. “Not the usual rates tantrum, not a recession whisper, not even an earnings miss in the classic sense. This was the market staring into an AI mirror and recoiling at its reflection.”

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