In the morning session on Thursday, Hong Kong's equities experienced a decline of 336 points, or 1.3%, settling around 26,510. This downturn erased the modest gains observed during the previous day. The sell-off was widespread, significantly impacting technology, financial, and consumer sectors. Market sentiment weakened following a predominantly lower close on Wall Street, influenced by a prolonged sell-off in tech stocks and disappointing U.S. employment data for January. Further losses were exacerbated by a decline in mainland Chinese equities, sparked by renewed concerns over China’s waning economic growth, particularly in manufacturing and construction sectors.
The mining sector was at the forefront of the early declines, with China Gold International falling 4.7%, Zijin Mining dropping 4.1%, and Zhaojin Mining decreasing by 1.6%. Other significant decliners included SMIC, which slid by 3.5%, China Hongqiao, down by 3.4%, and Tencent Holdings, which fell by 2.2%. Conversely, Baidu saw a minor dip of 0.7%, despite unveiling plans for its first-ever dividend payment and a share buyback initiative.
