Mainland and Hong Kong stocks dropped on Thursday as investors weighed the prospects of a de-escalation in the Middle East conflict.

The benchmark Hang Seng Index ended the day down 479 points, or 1.89 percent, at 24,856.

The China enterprises index was down 192 points, or 2.25 percent, at 8,389.

The tech index was down 161 points, or 3.28 percent, at 4,761.

On the mainland, the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index closed down 42 points, or 1.09 percent, at 3,889.

The Shenzhen Component Index was 194 points, or 1.41 percent, lower at 13,606 while the ChiNext Index, tracking China's Nasdaq-style board of growth enterprises, was 44 points, or 1.34 percent, at 3,272.

Further afield, the Nikkei ended down 145 points, or 0.27 percent, at 53,603 in Tokyo while the Kospi in Seoul was 181 points, or 3.22 percent, down at 5,460.

The losses came on a day that US President Donald Trump said Iran was desperate to make a deal to end nearly four weeks of fighting, contradicting the Iranian foreign minister who said his country was reviewing an American proposal but had no intention of holding talks.

Market participants said regional stocks, including China, struggled for direction amid uncertainty over the direction of the war.

"We have not ⁠been adding on the ⁠dips [given market volatility]", said Daniel Tan, portfolio manager at Grasshopper Asset Management.

Major sectoral indexes fell, with cloud computing and insurance leading the decline, down 3.2 percent and three percent, respectively.

Energy stocks, however, outperformed, gaining 0.9 percent.

Goldman Sachs analysts remained overweight on Chinese equities, despite higher-for-longer energy prices caused by the Middle East conflict.

The bank slightly trimmed 2026 earnings growth forecast for both mainland and Hong Kong shares by one ⁠percentage point to 12 percent, to reflect the modest impact from oil supply shock, adding the country is "relatively well-insulated" from rising energy prices.

Sources said China was considering easing shareholding restrictions to broaden capital-raising options for banks reeling from an economic slowdown, citing sources. (Xinhua/Reuters)


Edited by Tony Sabine