Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index bucked the upward trend in Asian markets on Friday, ending the session 1.1 percent lower to close at 25,116.85 points, said Timothy Pope, an analyst for China Global Television Network (CGTN).
Other Hong Kong indices were also down more than one percent on Friday, with the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index shedding 1.02 percent to 8,340.83 points, and the Hang Seng Tech Index dropping 1.77 percent to 4,707.62 points.
Pope said Tencent was the biggest loser this week among Hong Kong-listed companies as the tech giant is ramping up its AI investments, contributing to a healthy rise of 4.8 percent in the share price of chipmaker SMIC.
"Hong Kong's Hang Seng was in pretty poor shape compared to the other regional markets today. It ended the session 1.1 percent lower. This week was really earnings-heavy for Hong Kong and those results have been shaping trade for the last couple of days. Tencent was probably the biggest one. It was down 0.2 percent today, continuing to lose ground after a quarterly-earnings miss because despite strong revenue from its core gaming and advertising businesses, a lot of its cash flow is being directed at AI investment. We also had earnings from SMIC (Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation), which is very much on the other end of that seesaw. Tencent is spending money on AI and SMIC is the one getting paid. SMIC's second-quarter numbers were very strong. Revenue was up 36 percent year on year, passing 3 billion U.S. dollars for the first time. Net profit was triple what it was this time last year. And today the chip maker said its demand is so good, it's putting up the prices on its most popular products.SMIC's Co-CEO Zhao Haijun said it's called fairer pricing. Its stock was leading the Hang Seng today, up 4.8 percent," said Pope.
Hang Seng Index slumps on Friday after heavy week of earnings reports: CGTN analyst
