Hong Kong stocks slide to four-month low as stimulus hopes fade

Hong Kong equities fell sharply on Thursday, with the Hang Seng dropping 2.9% to a four-month low and the city’s technology shares losing 4.6%, Business Recorder reported. Mainland China’s CSI300 was down 1.3% at midday, bringing it close to 20% below its June peak, while the Shanghai Composite declined 0.9%. A fall of 20% from a recent high is commonly treated as the threshold for a technical bear market.

Investors have become less hopeful that Beijing will add near-term support after its limited stimulus measures disappointed markets. Stronger-than-expected third-quarter growth also reduced expectations of further action, while weakness in global AI-related shares added pressure. The ChiNext Composite lost 2.8% and the STAR50 fell 1.6% at midday; in Hong Kong, Tencent dropped 3.4% and Alibaba fell 6%. Analysts cited heavy exposure to technology and concerns about imbalances, while one investor said the damage could take time to recover from.