The Hang Seng Index fell 1.0%, or 250 points, to 24,765 on Friday, mirroring a broad decline across Asian markets after a selloff in US semiconductor stocks weighed on sentiment and reignited concerns about stretched valuations in artificial intelligence-related companies.
The setback followed overnight losses on Wall Street, where technology shares pulled back amid rising skepticism over whether heavy AI-related capital spending can deliver returns sufficient to support current market valuations. Risk appetite was further curbed by higher oil prices, which stoked inflation worries and reinforced expectations that central banks will stay cautious about loosening monetary policy.
Many investors opted to remain on the sidelines ahead of upcoming US economic data releases and corporate earnings reports. Notable decliners on the day included Knowledge Atlas (-14.9%), Tencent (-1.0%), SMIC (-4.1%), Kingboard Laminates (-5.8%), and Lenovo (-2.3%).
