The Hang Seng Index fell 0.3 per cent to 26,565.68 as of 11.09am local time. The Hang Seng Tech Index also slipped 0.3 per cent. On the mainland, the CSI 300 Index dropped 0.8 per cent and the Shanghai Composite Index retreated 0.5 per cent.
Alibaba Group Holding sank 2.3 per cent to HK$159.70 and Meituan lost 1.9 per cent to HK$101.30. Chipmaker Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp shed 1.7 per cent to HK$73.45. Limiting the losses, Sinopharm Group rallied 3.1 per cent to HK$20.72 and HSBC Holdings added 2 per cent to HK$112.70.
“The crowdedness of tech trades has eased, but not significantly,” said Zhang Dongdong, an analyst at Pacific Securities. “We’ll probably see diverging performances among technology stocks going forward. Those without earnings support will fall sharply.”
Stocks rose earlier on news that the US Senate advanced a plan to end the impasse and President Donald Trump expressed support for the bipartisan deal, a key development that paves the way for the federal government to reopen soon. The progress will restore supply of official data from inflation to employment and help investors regain insights into the strength of the economy and clues on monetary policy.
