Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index ended a strong week with a sharp Friday fall, dropping 315.12 points, or 1.27%, to 24,481.86 as a global technology sell-off reached Asia. The decline followed a steep overnight sell-off on Wall Street, where technology shares tumbled amid fears of stricter artificial intelligence regulation after the US midterm elections.

Despite Friday's losses, the benchmark kept most of its weekly gains. It added 1,187.44 points over the five sessions — about 5% — its strongest weekly performance since March 2025. The Hang Seng Tech Index fell 1.83% on Friday to 4,078.23 but still advanced 8.6% over the week, its best since February 2025, while the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index dropped 1.13% to 8,274.10 and gained 5.24% for the week.

Thursday had been the week's strongest session. The benchmark surged 877.48 points, or 3.67%, to 24,796.99, and the technology index jumped 5.55% in its largest daily gain of the year. Turnover reached HK$356.67 billion, against HK$236.89 billion the previous session.

Friday's retreat was led by the technology heavyweights. Alibaba fell 3.8% and Tencent shed 2.5% to HK$419.80, a day after gaining 5.93% following the launch of its Hunyuan Hy4 artificial intelligence model. AI-related stocks were hit hardest, with Z.AI plunging 10.5% and MiniMax declining 8.5%. Sportswear maker Li Ning bucked the weakness, jumping 5.2% after announcing a special dividend of RMB 2.32 per share. Full-day turnover reached HK$247.43 billion.

The pullback reflected concern over the returns on heavy AI investment and the possible impact of US political developments on data-centre expansion. AD HOC NEWS, citing Xinhua, confirmed the Friday close at 24,481.86 points. Mainland shares also fell on Friday, with China's blue-chip CSI 300 down 1.4%, though it still ended the week 1.7% higher, according to Reuters reporting.