Hong Kong stocks slip due to impact from newly-added AI companies: analyst

China

Hong Kong stocks slip due to impact from newly-added AI companies: analyst

2026-06-26 21:48 Last Updated At：22:37

Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index closed lower on Friday due to the impact of the inclusion of new AI companies this month, said Timothy Pope, a market analyst for China Global Television Network (CGTN).

Hong Kong's stock market ended lower Friday with the benchmark Hang Seng Index down 1.76 percent to close at 22,671.86 points.

The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index slid 1.94 percent to 7,460.84 points, and the Hang Seng Tech Index plummeted 3.41 percent to 4,255.59 points.

Two of China's leading AI companies, Knowledge Atlas (Zhipu) and MiniMax, joined the Hang Seng Tech Index in early June. Though only listed in January, both have become the best-performing new stocks on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

Pope said the inclusion of the two companies marks a significant milestone for the Hong Kong market, yet there will be a painful period before the adaption is complete.

"Hong Kong's Hang Seng, of course, has only just taken steps to increase its exposure to AI stocks, and that was definitely a factor in taking the index to a one-year low today. It was down by 1.8 percent at the end of the trade, and the Hang Seng Tech Index fell 3.4 percent. The two stocks which were added to the Hang Seng to counter criticism over a lack of AI exposure for the index - Knowledge Atlas technologies and MiniMax - both Chinese companies working on large language AI models - tanked today. Knowledge Atlas was off by 12.9 percent and MiniMax by 6.5 percent despite a last minute attempt to claw back some losses," Pope said.

Pope said regardless of the general loss, some companies achieved good performance on the Hong Kong market.

"You actually had to look quite hard for good news on the Hong Kong markets today, but it was there, for debut companies like tech manufacturer - and ironically Apple supplier - Lingyi (iTech). It completed a billion-dollar IPO this week and its stock was up 73 percent today, its first day of trade," he added.

Tokyo stocks plunge on tech sell-off

Japanese shares closed sharply lower Friday, dragged down by weak tech stocks, said Timothy Pope, a market analyst for China Global Television Network (CGTN).

Tokyo stocks ended with heavy losses, as the benchmark Nikkei briefly plunged more than 5 percent, marking its third‑largest point drop on record.

The 225‑issue Nikkei Stock Average finished down 3,005.46 points, or 4.15 percent, at 69,360.88. The broader Topix index lost 53.11 points, or 1.32 percent, to close at 3,963.36.

On the top-tier Prime Market, nonferrous metal, information and communication, and electric appliance issues were notable decliners.

Stocks came under pressure from profit-taking following the Nikkei's surge of more than 3,100 points the previous session, with semiconductor-related shares bearing the brunt of selling.

Pope said SoftBank Group led the declines after reports emerged that OpenAI, in which it has heavily invested, is considering holding off on its initial public offering until next year.

"In Tokyo the Nikkei 225 was down more than 4 percent. This was mostly due to SoftBank shares going through the floor today. They lost 12 percent following a report in the New York Times which quoted insiders at OpenAI saying the company might delay an IPO until next year. The report said having the IPO this year would probably mean not hitting a trillion-dollar valuation, something which it seems the company's CEO Sam Altman is not willing to compromise on. SoftBank is heavily invested in OpenAI and would benefit hugely from its IPO, and it's also a heavyweight stock on the Nikkei, which moves at the whims of its big stocks. It didn't help the index today that so many of those these days are AI-related, Advantest and Tokyo Electron also traded sharply lower," Pope said.