Hong Kong shares close lower, Kuaishou slumps 14pc

Hong Kong stocks ended lower on Thursday, with the Hang Seng Index falling below 25,000 points.

 The benchmark Hang Seng Index dropped 479 points, or 1.89 percent, to 24,856, with the full-day turnover of HK$261.7 billion.

The Hang Seng Tech Index fell 3.28 percent to 4,761.

The laggards, Labubu (9992) and Kuaishou (1024), slipped 14 percent and 10.5 percent, respectively, marking the worst performances among blue chips and both hitting the half-year lows.

SMIC (0981) and Meituan (3690) dropped by 5.9 percent and 3.7 percent before releasing their earnings.

In the mainland, the Shanghai Stock Exchange Composite Index lost 1.09 percent to 3,889 points, while the Shenzhen Stock Exchange Component Index went down 1.41 percent to 13,606 points.