HK shares end in the red as tech sell-off returns

Hong Kong and mainland markets finished in the red on Thursday, as rising US bond yields again spooked investors to give up their holdings in tech shares.

Taking its cue from Wall Street, the Hang Seng Index started the day down more than 300 points.

The sell-off picked up speed during the morning, pushing the index down nearly 800 points before easing in the afternoon.

The index finished the day 643 points or 2.2 percent lower, at 29,236, on turnover of HK$$224.4 billion.

The Hang Seng Tech Index bore the brunt of the losses, tumbling almost 6 percent.

The biggest blue-chip loser was Wuxi Biologics, which dived more than 10 percent.

Meituan sank 8.7 percent, Tencent slid 4.5 percent and Xiaomi gave up 4 percent.

But financials managed to eke out gains. Bank of China Hong Kong added two-and-a-half percent. Hang Seng Bank put on 1.4 percent. AIA and HSBC each edged up more than half a percent.

Markets across the border were also deep in the red a day after making their biggest gains in three weeks.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index shed 2.1 percent, while the blue-chip CSI300 index tumbled 3.2 percent. The Shenzhen Composite lost 2.9 percent.

Elsewhere in the region, Japan’s Nikkei retreated 2.1 percent. South Korea’s Kospi was down 1.3 percent. Taiwan declined 1.9 percent. Australia inched down 0.8 percent. But Singapore was up slightly.

Oil prices extended gains on expectations that OPEC+ producers might decide against boosting output.

In currencies, the greenback jumped to a seven-month high as investors continued to pile into the currency, betting on the US outperforming its peers in economic recovery.