HSI Loses Over 2 Percent As Tencent Shares Dive

Hong Kong shares plunged on Friday morning, with market heavyweight Tencent leading losses after Donald Trump signed an executive order barring US residents from doing any business with the firm's social media platform WeChat, adding to tensions with China.

The Hang Seng Index tumbled 2.3 percent, to 24,364.

On the mainland, the Shanghai Composite Index dropped 1.5 percent, to 3,337, while the Shenzhen Composite Index fell 1.9 percent, to 2,261.

Most Asian markets were in the red, despite another strong lead from Wall Street, where the tech-rich Nasdaq soared to a new record for the fourth day in a row.

Tokyo ended the morning 0.6 percent lower, while Sydney was 0.7 percent lower. Taipei, Singapore, Manila, Jakarta and Wellington were also well down.

WeChat parent Tencent sank 10 percent at one point after Trump issued the order targeting WeChat, citing national security concerns.

It pared some losses later, but was still down 7 percent percent at HK$518.00 by the break, while the yuan also sank against the US dollar. (AFP)

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