A pedestrian wearing a protective mask walks past a stock ticker at the Exchange Square complex, which houses the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, in Hong Kong, May 29, 2020. (PHOTO / BLOOMBERG)
HONG KONG – Hong Kong stocks finished Tuesday at the lowest point in more than a month as tech firms went down significantly following retreats of US tech shares on Monday.
Major US stock indexes sank on Monday, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq down 2.55 percent to 13,401.86
The benchmark Hang Seng Index lost 581.85 points, or 2.03 percent, to 28,013.81 points, marking the weakest level since March 25. With a slump at its opening, the index at one moment slipped to 27,910.71 points during the morning session but regained above the 28,000-point mark afterward.
Turnover totaled HK$188.75 billion (about US$24.29 billion).
Tech giants suffered the most in the across-the-board decline involving a wide range of sectors from blue chips to finance and property, in particular those also trading in the United States, where tech shares were dragged down by inflation concerns and sector rotation.
The Hang Seng tech index dropped 3 percent to close at 7,649.68 points. Search engine Baidu lost 3.5 percent, and online life services platform Meituan shed 5.25 percent. Internet conglomerate Tencent fell 1.76 percent.
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Tuesday's decline here came after a similar tech slump on the US market on Monday.
Major US stock indexes sank on Monday, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq down 2.55 percent to 13,401.86. All the top 10 stocks by weight in the S&P US Listed China 50 index ended the day on a downbeat note.
As concerns about inflation are on the rise, investors tended to cash out expensive tech shares and turn to other sectors that may benefit from economic recoveries, analysts said.
Ronald Wan, chief executive of Partners Capital International, pointed out that the Hong Kong market had been under adjustment over the past month and that concerns about inflation, alongside the tightening regulation over tech firms, added to pressure on the market.