Hong Kong stocks fall as tech shares slide, Trump-Xi summit in focus

Hong Kong equities closed lower on Friday as trading thinned ahead of a local holiday, with technology names taking the heaviest losses. According to Reuters, the Hang Seng Index dropped 1.7% to 24,343.19, a two-month low, while the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index, which covers mainland firms listed in the city, shed roughly 2%. Investors were also watching the Trump-Xi summit for any signal of progress.

The Hang Seng Tech Index lost more than 2% and reached a three-month trough, while artificial intelligence stocks slid close to 3%. Mainland Chinese markets stayed shut until Monday, and Taiwan and South Korea were also closed for holidays, leaving MSCI's Asia-Pacific gauge outside Japan essentially unchanged.

The summit was described as rich in symbolism but failed to produce any apparent breakthroughs on AI, trade, Taiwan or the Iran conflict. ANZ's head of Asia research, Khoon Goh, said few had anticipated a breakthrough, yet he viewed the relationship as heading in a constructive direction that markets ought to respond to favourably.