appConfigEntityId

bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

isVideo

articlePageQuery

article

articleSchemaContent

content

hooksArticlePageAdvertisementConfigArticle

hooksArticlePageFloatingButtonConfigArticle

appConfig

filter

json

liveArticle

Zhang Shidong

A sell-off in Chinese technology stocks drove Hong Kong’s benchmark index briefly below the 23,000-point mark for the first time in a year, as Alibaba Group Holding slumped to a 16-month low after US artificial intelligence firm Anthropic PBC accused it of “illicitly” extracting capabilities from its Claude model.
The Hang Seng Index shed 1.4 per cent to 23,076.91 at market close on Thursday, paring a decline of as much as 1.9 per cent that dragged the benchmark down to an intraday low of 22,978.59. The Hang Seng Tech Index sank 1.6 per cent.
On the mainland, the CSI 300 Index closed 1.6 per cent higher and a gauge of the technology-dominated Star Market surged almost 4 per cent to a record.
Alibaba slumped 4.4 per cent to HK$95, finishing at its lowest price since February 2, 2025, with the episode throwing into doubt Chinese technology companies’ ability to compete with US peers in the AI frontier. Even a blowout business forecast from memory-chip giant Micron Technology failed to allay the turbulence.
That added to worsening sentiment on Hong Kong stocks over the past weeks, as the US Federal Reserve shifted to a more hawkish tone under new chair Kevin Warsh and turmoil in South Korean chip stocks heightened global concerns about the valuations of AI firms. Higher borrowing costs in the US tend to reduce the appeal of stocks in Asia and squelch equity valuations by spurring outflows from the region.
“The volatile environments overseas have an obvious hindrance to Hong Kong stocks,” said Chen Meng, an analyst at Soochow Securities. “While Hong Kong’s technology stocks look attractive in valuations, there are no fresh inflows of capital for now. New catalysts require fundamentals or policies that exceed expectations.”
Hong Kong stocks also took a pounding from diminished spending activity on the mainland, with retail sales contracting last month – the first period of decline since the lifting of Covid-19 controls in 2022 – a sign of dented consumer confidence amid a perennial decline in property prices and other factors.
That matters for the city’s stocks, which are heavily biased towards big internet platforms that rely on e-commerce business as their main revenue. The trio of Alibaba, Tencent Holdings and Meituan accounted for a combined 16.7 per cent of the weighting of the Hang Seng Index, according to a fact sheet from the index compiler.
By close on Thursday, Tencent had dropped 1.7 per cent to HK$421.40 and Meituan had fallen 2.4 per cent to HK$66.10. JD.com retreated 2.3 per cent to HK$98.75.
Investors are keeping a close eye on the release of May data covering personal consumption expenditures (PCE) – a measure of living costs preferred by the Fed to gauge inflation – due Thursday night. PCE growth probably accelerated to 4.1 per cent from 3.8 per cent in April, according to the median of economists’ forecasts tracked by Bloomberg.


From US Fed rates to China’s global export share: 4 figures shaping markets

How Hong Kong’s new 5-year plan courts global capital with an eye on market dominance

Hong Kong stocks decline after Fed raises interest rates and signals more to come

US rate increase should only have short-term impact on Hong Kong stocks: CICC

Hong Kong stock market

Hang Seng Index briefly slips below 23,000 as Alibaba slumps to 16-month low

The city’s benchmark stock index briefly dipped below 23,000 as technology shares came under pressure. Photo: Jelly Tse

Hong Kong stocks rebound from choppy trading triggered by overnight turmoil in US

The logo of Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing. Photo: Reuters

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Tech Index welcomes MiniMax, Zhipu in AI milestone amid slump

Morgan Stanley projected that had MiniMax and Zhipu been included in the Hang Seng Tech Index at the time of their IPOs, replacing the benchmark’s two smallest constituents, the index’s year-to-date return would have been about 5 percentage points higher. Photo: Shutterstock

Zhipu has also been added to the Stock Connect programme with effect from Monday. Photo: Shutterstock

How are Chinese firms faring as AI and tech reshape global market cap rankings?

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang introduces the chipmaker’s Vera Rubin architecture at the Computex trade show in Taipei on June 1. Photo: Reuters

SpaceX executives and guests celebrate its initial public offering at the Nasdaq MarketSite in New York on June 12. Photo: Reuters

Alibaba and WuXi AppTec decline in Hong Kong after addition to US blacklist

The Hang Seng Index fell 0.4 per cent on Tuesday. Photo: Jelly Tse

How Anthropic’s Fable 5 shutdown could help China’s Zhipu GLM-5.2 gain ground

The logo of Anthropic, developer of the Claude AI models. Restrictions on access to Claude Fable 5 have created an opening for Chinese AI rivals seeking to expand their global reach. Photo: Shutterstock

A smartphone displaying Claude Mythos. The model is widely regarded as among the most advanced AI systems currently available. Photo: Shutterstock

Business

China Business

Markets

Alibaba led Hong Kong tech stocks lower, pushing the Hang Seng briefly below 23,000 as AI and consumer worries hit sentiment


Alibaba led Hong Kong tech stocks lower, pushing the Hang Seng briefly below 23,000 as AI and consumer worries hit sentiment.


Hang Seng Index briefly slips below 23,000 as Alibaba slumps to 16-month low

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Alibaba led Hong Kong tech stocks lower, pushing the Hang Seng briefly below 23,000 as AI and consumer worries hit sentiment

Alibaba led Hong Kong tech stocks lower, pushing the Hang Seng briefly below 23,000 as AI and consumer worries hit sentiment