Hong Kong stocks dropped on Friday after four days of advances, as investors searched for fresh catalysts beyond expectations about a US interest-rate cut that reversed a tumble triggered by concerns about an artificial-intelligence bubble.
The Hang Seng Index fell 0.2 per cent to 25,891.18 as of 11.13am local time. For the month, the benchmark has lost 0.1 per cent, heading for a second consecutive monthly decline. The Hang Seng Tech Index gained 0.1 per cent.
On the mainland, the CSI 300 Index and the Shanghai Composite Index both rose 0.1 per cent.
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Meituan slipped 0.1 per cent to HK$103.90 before its earnings card later on Friday. Biopharmaceutical firm Wuxi AppTec sank 3.3 per cent to HK$101.70, and bottled water maker Nongfu Spring declined 2.1 per cent to HK$49.38.
Defying the decline, Pop Mart International Group surged 4.3 per cent to HK$228 after Morgan Stanley said that concerns about the toymaker’s blockbuster product Labubu were overdone and that the recent pullback presented a good entry point. Alibaba Group Holding added 0.8 per cent to HK$151.70 after starting sales of smart glasses powered by its self-developed AI model.
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Hong Kong stocks are set to close out a month marked by wild swings alongside global markets. Stocks got hammered by a retreat in risk appetite amid jitters about elevated valuations of AI stocks before firm bets on a rate reduction by the Federal Reserve in December reversed sentiment. Rates traders now price an 85 per cent probability of a Fed cut next month.