Mainland and Hong Kong stocks tumbled in early trade on Friday, tracking a global tech rout as fears of tighter AI regulation and a slowdown in the sector rattled investors.

The benchmark Hang Seng Index fell 392 points, or 1.58 percent, to 24,404 while the artificial intelligence index was down some 7 percent.

The China enterprises index was down 120 points, or 1.44 percent, at 8,248 while the tech index fell 129 points, or 3.11 percent, to 4,025.

On the mainland, the Shanghai Composite Index opened down 77 points, or 2.11 percent, at 3,612 while the blue-chip CSI300 Index slipped 1.5 percent.

The Shenzhen Component Index opened down 426 points, or 3.72 percent, at 11,044 while the ChiNext Index opened down 128 points, or 4.99 percent, at 2,438.

Tech led the drop, with startup board Star 50 Index and AI Index both down more than five percent at the open before narrowing some of the losses.

Overnight in the US market, the tech-led Nasdaq notched its deepest one-day drop since "Liberation Day" in April 2025, when US President Donald Trump announced sweeping tariffs.

The drop wiped out trillions of dollars in market value on fears of more AI scrutiny after Democrats won big in US midterm elections. (Agencies)


Edited by Aaron Tam