SHANGHAI: Hong Kong stocks slipped on Friday, while mainland China markets were mixed, weighed down by a global selloff in technology shares and sharp losses in silver futures that dampened investor sentiment.
At the midday break, the benchmark Shanghai Composite index inched up 0.11%, while the blue-chip CSI300 index lost 0.05%.
In Hong Kong, the benchmark Hang Seng Index fell 1.13%, while the city’s tech shares dropped 0.48%.
Losses in tech shares were tracking their global peers, as shares of US software and data services companies extended their tumble for a seventh straight session on Thursday as investors worried that fast-advancing artificial intelligence tools could upend the sector.
Gold prices stabilised in morning deals and helped some non-ferrous metal shares pare losses, while prices of Shanghai-traded silver futures remained down about 13%.
China’s sole silver futures fund slumped by its 10% daily limit on Friday, its sixth straight session of decline, after a global selloff in precious metals wiped out significant investor gains.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng materials index dropped 0.8% at the midday break, when China’s CSI SWS non-ferrous metal index bounced 1.28%.
Much of the attention will be shifted to China’s release of January inflation data due next Wednesday, as recent gold price volatility could contribute significantly to consumer inflation, traders and analysts said.
“The effect on core CPI depends on jewellery’s proportion in the basket and changes in landed prices,” said Xing Zhaopeng, senior China strategist at ANZ.
“In countries like India, Indonesia, and Mainland China, jewellery accounts for over 1% of the core basket – the highest in the region.
Households in these economies often buy gold and jewellery as savings.“ Separately, trading is expected to gradually get thin next week, ahead of the long Lunar New Year holidays, the biggest and most important festival in China.
The week-long holiday starts from February 15 this year.
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