SHANGHAI: China stocks closed down on Friday as a slew of weak data weighed on investor sentiment. Hong Kong stocks, too, declined, led by tech shares after e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd posted weaker-than-expected earnings.
China’s blue-chip CSI300 Index closed down 0.3%, while the Shanghai Composite Index lost 0.4%.
Hong Kong’s benchmark Hang Seng Index was down 1.4%, while the China Enterprises Index fell 1.8%.
For the week, CSI300 Index edged up 0.2%, while Hang Seng Index declined 0.9%.
Morgan Stanley analysts said investor sentiment continued to weaken amid weaker-than-expected macro data and geopolitical relations in a multipolar world.
Northbound trading saw a net capital outflow of 2.2 billion yuan ($318.3 million) by market close, and themes such as state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and artificial intelligence (AI) were losing momentum.
Despite the broadly subdued sentiment, semiconductor shares led the gains in China, rising 2.0%.
Shenzhen Ronda Photosensitive & Technology Co rose 9.5% as photoresist - a key, light-sensitive material used for manufacturing chips - concept reignited the market.
Consumer-related sectors also rebounded from losses fuelled by disappointing retail sales data released earlier this week. Liquor and food and beverage shares rose 1.6% and 1.3%, respectively.
In Hong Kong, tech giants shed 2.4% after Alibaba Group Holding Ltd missed estimates with a barely 2% increase in quarterly revenue. The e-commerce giant also said it would list its cloud computing business next year.
“The bulk of Hong Kong selling is in China internet names, a follow-through from the American Depositary Receipt (ADR) weakness,” UBS analysts wrote in a note.
Alibaba Group fell 6.0%, after its ADR shares lost 5.4% overnight. Meituan and Tencent Holdings Ltd were down 3.7% and 1.2%, respectively.
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