Hong Kong Stocks Open Lower: Tech and Semiconductor Names Drag, Oil Plays Shine

Stock News09:52

Hong Kong's stock market kicked off the trading week with a downward opening. The benchmark Hang Seng Index slipped 0.42% to 24,701.18 points, while the Hang Seng Tech Index fell 0.69% to 4,290.58 points. The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index also dipped 0.4% to 8,213 points.

In early trading, major technology stocks showed broad weakness. Alibaba-W (09988) dropped 1.86% and Tencent Holdings (00700) declined 1.07%, although some peers managed gains with JD.com-SW (09618) up 0.66% and Xiaomi Group-W (01810) edging 0.23% higher. The artificial intelligence application segment faced selling pressure, while semiconductor and chip names encountered headwinds. SMIC (00981) fell nearly 2% and Hua Hong Semiconductor (01347) lost more than 2%.

Within Hang Seng Index constituents, Sino Biopharmaceutical (01177), Chow Tai Fook (01929), and Lenovo Group (00992) were among the leading gainers, whereas Weichai Power (02338), Hua Hong Semiconductor (01347), and SMIC (00981) were the top decliners. Countering the broader trend, oil-related stocks traded actively, with China Oilfield Services (02883) advancing over 1%.

The positive close seen on Wall Street last Friday, where the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.98%, the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.96%, and the S&P 500 added 0.86%, failed to carry through to Asian markets on Monday morning. A shift toward risk-aversion emerged in the early Asian session, driven by a sudden change in the Middle East situation, a spike in oil prices, and growing expectations of a U.S. Federal Reserve rate hike this week. This sentiment weighed on Japanese and South Korean equities, with AI chip-related stocks in those markets opening sharply lower. Additionally, a call from Anthropic to slow the development of advanced AI models added further pressure, collectively dragging down Hong Kong's technology-linked stocks at the open. Meanwhile, international oil prices climbed in early trading, with WTI Crude futures quoted at $103.101 per barrel, providing a boost to Hong Kong-listed oil stocks.

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