Hong Kong Stocks Fall 318 Points in Morning Session, Tech Shares Hit Hard

Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index declined 318 points or 1.27% to close at 24,891 on July 24 morning session, breaking below the 25,000-point level. The index opened down 278 points at 24,932 before losses accelerated, hitting a low of 24,841 points.

Tech and precious metals stocks led the selloff. The Tech Index (Hang Seng Tech) fell 79 points or 1.69% to 4,619, with major names under pressure: Alibaba dropped 5.2%, Tencent fell 2.7%, Meituan declined 1%, and Baidu slipped 2.3%. Precious metals stocks faced heavy selling, with Lao Fu Gold down 7.2% as gold prices retreated amid rising U.S. Treasury yields. In contrast, local bank stocks climbed against the trend, with Bank of China Hong Kong up 4% and East Asia Bank rising 6.2%, supported by expectations of higher net interest margins. Morning turnover reached 117.12 billion yuan, with northbound flows adding 531 million yuan.