Hong Kong stocks fell on Friday as investors took profits, especially in high-flying sectors, pausing a recent rally but keeping the benchmark on track for its biggest weekly gain since March.
The Hang Seng Index lost 0.5 per cent to 27,138.24 as of 9.55am local time, trimming some of the 1.6 per cent gains on Thursday. That brought the gain for the week to 3.9 per cent, the strongest since the week ending March 7. The Hang Seng Tech Index fell 1.7 per cent. Mainland stock exchanges are closed for the National Day and Mid-Autumn Festival holidays from Wednesday through October 8.
Search-engine giant Baidu slumped 2.6 per cent to HK$139.10 and short-video platform Kuaishou Technology declined 3.5 per cent to HK$88.65. Electric-vehicle maker Li Auto dropped 1.8 per cent to HK$100.20, while peer BYD lost 1.7 per cent to HK$112. E-commerce firm JD.com slid 2.8 per cent to HK$110.60 and online-game provider NetEase lost 1.3 per cent to HK$237.40.
Limiting losses, e-commerce firm Alibaba Group Holding added 0.3 per cent to HK$183.60 and food-delivery service provider Meituan advanced 0.7 per cent to HK$106.50. Chipmaker Semiconductor Manufacturing International gained 0.3 per cent to HK$89.90.
Other major Asian markets strengthened. Japan’s Nikkei 225 gained 1.6 per cent, while South Korea’s Kospi advanced 2.7 per cent and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 added 0.4 per cent.
