SHANGHAI/HONG KONG: China’s blue-chip index crumbled to a 15-month low and confirmed a bear market on Thursday, as AI shares slumped on fears that growth and valuations were unsustainable.
The CSI300 Index dropped 1.8 percent to close at 4,036.30, its lowest level since July 2025. It is now 20.2 percent below its most recent closing peak on June 22, crossing the 20 percent threshold that typically defines a bear market.
Based on closing levels, the index has never surpassed the peak it set in 2007, with the momentum that drove the market to a five-year high in June having since reversed sharply.
“The market is in the dump,” said Hao Hong, managing partner and chief investment officer at Lotus Asset Management in Hong Kong.
The Shanghai Composite Index closed down 1.5 percent, also its lowest in more than a year.
A sweeping selloff in tech leaders across Asia, along with tepid stimulus expectations and a lack of fresh catalysts, triggered a broad rush to sell in China.
Only the consumer staples and utilities sub-indexes eked out gains.
“The National Team has been rather hesitant to make a move,” Hong added, referring to China’s state-owned investment funds that often intervene during selloffs.
The CSI Semiconductor Index lost 3.6 percent and the CSI AI Index was down 3.3 percent. The start-up board ChiNext Composite Index tumbled 4.4 percent to its lowest since July 2025.
Market sentiment has also been hurt by disappointment over Beijing’s piecemeal stimulus measures, traders and analysts said, while stronger-than-expected third-quarter economic growth has further reduced expectations for additional policy support.
China’s economic growth bounced off three-year lows as exports offset consumers’ tight grip on their wallets, even as growing reliance on external drivers deepens structural imbalances.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index slipped 3 percent to a four-month low, while the Hang Seng Tech Index slid 5 percent to a two-year low.
Some investors pointed to Beijing’s campaign to chase income tax on offshore trusts, a popular structure adopted by many Hong Kong-listed Chinese companies’ shareholders, as another source of selling pressure.
Among the biggest losers on Thursday, Tencent slumped 2.9 percent and Alibaba dived more than 6 percent.
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