The global tech sell-off prompted losses in Hong Kong and Japan's stock markets, with the Hang Seng Index losing almost one percent on Friday and the Nikkei 225 ending up in retreat this week, said a market analyst.
Hong Kong's stock market ended lower on Friday with the benchmark Hang Seng Index down 0.92 percent to close at 26,241.83 points.
Japan's benchmark Nikkei stock index, the 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average, dropped 1.19 percent to end at 50,276.37points.
Timothy Pope, a market analyst for China Global Television Network (CGTN), recapped stock market performances in Hong Kong and Japan on Friday.
"The Hang Seng shed a little under one percent, with tech and biotech shares the biggest decliners. Two Chinese tech firms were unlucky in their choice of listing week. They are two robo-taxi companies Pony AI and WeRide. They debuted on the Hong Kong exchange yesterday and have promptly tanked. These ones were probably not likely to surge at opening anyway. Both companies priced their listings at a bit of a premium. But still, the current pause for thought on the future of AI related stocks didn't help. Pony AI was down 11.3 percent today and WeRide shed 13.5," he said.
"The Nikkei 225 over in Tokyo was in retreat this week as well after touching another all-time high on Tuesday. It's been sliding ever since and was down 1.2 percent today. But it's still clinging on above 50,000 points. This index too is a victim of that global tech sell-off, and we saw big names falling heavily -- like SoftBank down 6.7 percent. Tokyo was also pouring over earnings results. We're right in the middle of reporting season in Japan. We had quite a few double-digit declines thanks to earnings and at least one double-digit increase, though that was the hiring software and website provider Recruit Holdings that was up more than 16 percent," said Pope.
Hong Kong, Japanese stock markets end lower amid global tech sell-off: analyst
