Hang Seng Under Pressure to End at 2-Week Low

The Hang Seng tumbled 462 points, or 1.7%, to close at 26,290 on Friday, extending losses for the fifth straight session and hitting a two-week low.

Tech shares led the slump, down over 3%, after China tightened rare earth export controls and stepped up enforcement of chip import restrictions to curb reliance on U.S. products such as Nvidia’s AI processors.

Consumer stocks also lost about 2.7%, as investors turned increasingly cautious ahead of key Chinese data for September next week, including trade, CPI/PPI, and credit figures.

Major laggards included Zhojin Mining (-7.4%), SMIC (-7.2%), China Hongqiao (-5.9%), Kuaishou Tech (-5.4%), and Tencent (-3.6%).

Still, losses were cushioned by Wall Street’s recent record highs and continued bets for a Fed rate cut in late October.

Meantime, sentiment toward mainland stocks stayed upbeat, with Chinese benchmarks hovering over decade highs after the Golden Week break.

For the week, the Hang Seng fell 3.1%, reversing gains from the prior week.