Tech stocks lead Hong Kong decline, threatening 6-day winning streak

JD.com, Bilibili, NetEase and Alibaba lose ground while New Oriental Education & Technology plunges on weak earnings

Reading Time:2 minutes

Pedestrians cross a street near an electronic billboard showing China’s 2024 GDP growth in Shanghai on January 21, 2025. Photo: Reuters

Published: 10:22am, 22 Jan 2025Updated: 12:49pm, 22 Jan 2025

Hong Kong stocks fell, reversing from a six-day winning streak on broad losses among technology companies as the US unveiled a major artificial intelligence (AI) initiative.

The Hang Seng Index fell 1.3 per cent to 19,836.39 at the noon trading break, while the Hang Seng Tech Index lost 2 per cent. On the mainland, the CSI 300 Index dropped 0.9 per cent, and the Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.8 per cent.

E-commerce giant JD.com plunged 4.4 per cent to HK$151.40, while video-sharing platform Bilibili dropped 6.2 per cent to HK$129.50. Alibaba Group Holding slid 2.8 per cent to HK$82.40, gaming firm NetEase fell 1.9 per cent to HK$154.40 and Tencent Holdings dropped 1.2 per cent to HK$382.80.

New Oriental Education & Technology plunged 25.1 per cent to HK$35 after second-quarter earnings fell short of analyst expectations. The company reported adjusted earnings of US$0.22 per American depository share for the second quarter on Tuesday, missing the consensus estimate of US$0.32.

US President Donald Trump announced a major private-sector investment aiming to “beat China” in AI on Tuesday. The joint venture, called Stargate, would see tech companies OpenAI, SoftBank and Oracle initially invest a combined US$100 billion to build data centres. The funding could expand to US$500 billion over the next four years, according to the announcement.

Stocks of domestic, service-oriented companies serving everyday needs in China are preferred picks to mitigate the volatility coming from short-term declines, according to Kai Wang, a senior equity analyst for Asia at Morningstar.