Hong Kong stocks dropped on Friday to post weekly losses, weighed down by tech firms, after Beijing widened crackdown on fintech companies as financial watchdogs might order them to strengthen compliance with regulations.
The Hang Seng index fell 2% to 28,724.88, while the China Enterprises Index lost 2% to 10,825.25 points.
For the week, HSI declined 1.2% while HSCE shed 2.2%.
Tech stocks led the slide on Friday amid mounting regulatory concerns.
The Hang Seng tech index and the Hang Seng IT index retreated 2.2% and 2.3%, respectively.
Chinese financial watchdogs on Thursday summoned 13 internet platforms engaged in finance business, including heavyweights Tencent and ByteDance, the central bank said.
Data on Friday showed China’s factory activity expanded at a slower pace and missed forecasts in April as supply bottlenecks and rising costs weighed on production and overseas demand lost momentum.
Tensions between Beijing and Washington also added to the pressure, as tech firms are seen vulnerable to the rift between two of the world’s largest economies.
U.S. President Joe Biden took aim at China in his first speech to Congress, pledging to maintain a strong U.S. military presence in the Indo-Pacific and promising to boost technological development and trade.
Around the region, MSCI’s Asia ex-Japan stock index was weaker by 0.93%, while Japan’s Nikkei index closed down 0.83%.
The yuan was quoted at 6.4698 per U.S. dollar at 0842 GMT, 0.03% firmer than the previous close of 6.472.
At close, China’s A-shares were trading at a premium of 35.61% over Hong Kong-listed H-shares.
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