HK stocks punch up as internet plays regain ground

The mainland's blue-chip stock index edged up on Friday and closed the holiday-shortened week near its lowest level in more than a year as a selloff in AI-related supply chain shares ⁠deepened, while Hong Kong stocks rebounded on gains in internet companies. The benchmark Hang Seng Index rose 425 points, or 1.8 percent, to 24,211 on turnover of HK$209.2 billion. For the entire week, the index climbed 1 percent. The tech index rose 124 points, or 3.1 percent, to 4,197 but was still hovering near a two-year low while the China enterprises index ended the day 137 points, or 1.7 percent, higher at 8,147. On the mainland, the CSI300 Index ended 0.2 percent higher while the Shanghai Composite Index inched up one point to close at 3,813 on turnover of 888.56 billion yuan. For the week, the CSI300 was down nearly 1 percent and has fallen for nine straight weeks. The Shenzhen Component Index rose 20 points, or 0.17 percent, to 12,641 on turnover of 1.01 trillion yuan while the ChiNext Index was up six points, or 0.22 percent, at 3,043 on turnover of 492.05 billion yuan. The 5G ⁠Communication Index fell up to six percent to a ⁠two-month low. The tech-focused ⁠Star50 Index shed as much as four percent to a five-month low before closing roughly flat. Sentiment improved in ⁠the afternoon session, with turnover ‌in some key blue-chip and small-cap ETFs, such as Huatai-PB CSI300 ETF, reaching its highest in ‌nearly two months. Zhongji Innolight, a leading maker of optical transceivers, slid one percent while ⁠memory chip giant CXMT closed up one percent. China's stock benchmarks are near levels hit two years ago when a stimulus bonanza from Beijing lit up share prices ‌and boosted hopes for a slow bull run, which is now limping into a three-month downtrend. The coal index was up 1.4 percent while consumer staple shares gained 0.8 percent as investors rotated into more defensive ⁠and ‌traditional sectors to curb risk. In Tokyo, the Nikkei slipped 11 points, or 0.02 percent, to close at 69,030 as the benchmark limped to a weekly loss of 0.39 percent for the week and investors weighed prospects for the red-hot AI sector. The broader Topix gained 13 points, or 0.33 percent, to 4,104 on Friday. (Reuters & Xinhua) Edited by Edmond Fong

2026-10-09 17:07:00