Chinese tech stocks fell on Friday, following similar slides around the world as markets reacted to interest rate decisions in the US, UK and Europe.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index lost as much as 2.7 per cent in morning trading. The biggest losses were for Trip.com, which fell by as much as 11.3 per cent after earnings released on Thursday revealed it swung to a loss in the three months to September, and JD health, which lost as much as 7.5 per cent.
Video platform Bilibili and ecommerce group Alibaba’s Hong Kong listed shares fell by as much as 5.3 per cent and 3.6 per cent, respectively.
Friday’s losses took the Hang Seng tech index down more than 7 per cent since markets opened on Monday. Chinese stocks have also been hit in recent days by concerns over US blacklists on investment and technology transfer.
They join a global sell-off in technology companies that began in the US on Thursday, following the Federal Reserve’s decision to accelerate the pace at which it will tighten interest rates.
Tech stocks are particularly sensitive to interest rates as their value is based on the prospect of future growth, which is diminished by higher borrowing costs.
The sell off spread across Asia on Friday, with share price losses for Japanese companies Fujitsu and Sharp and steep declines for some mainland-listed Chinese tech firms.
Laggards in the US on Thursday included chipmakers Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices, two of the best-performing large-cap US stocks of the year, which fell 6.8 per cent and 5.4 per cent, respectively. Tesla, Adobe and Qualcomm also came under pressure, down 5 per cent, 10.2 per cent and 5.9 per cent, respectively.
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