HK stocks post slimmer winnings by noon

Hong Kong stocks closed flat as of midday, seeing most of its morning gains erased.

The benchmark Hang Seng Index inched up 0.18 percent or 41.5 points to 22,661 by noon, with a Main Board turnover of HK$252.8 billion.

The blue-chip index once hit 22,977 points in the morning – enjoying extended optimism for Chinese tech shares – the highest in over four months. The indicator retreated to as low as 22,505 points during the session.

The Hang Seng Tech Index swung, falling 0.11 percent and ending the morning at 5,519 points.

Tencent (0700) saw its growth narrow to 4.25 percent and stood at HK$495 per share. The tech giant recently confirmed reports that its Weixin instant messaging app has entered beta testing with DeepSeek’s artificial intelligence model.

Jefferies raised its target price for Tencent to HK$550.

BYD Electronic (0285) decreased 6.4 percent while its parent BYD (1211) slid by 2.4 percent.

Gold miners dipped amid retreating gold prices, with Zijin Mining (2899) declining 3.25 percent.

In mainland China, the Shanghai Composite Index closed at 3,348 by midday, up 2 points or 0.06 percent, while the Shenzhen Component Index rose 44 points or 0.41 percent to 10,794.

STAFF REPORTER