Hong Kong stocks open lower on heightening Mideast conflict

Hong Kong shares fell at the open on Wednesday amid the escalating conflict in the Middle East.

The benchmark Hang Seng Index dropped 123 points, or 0.5 percent, to 24,442.

The tech gauge inched down 0.4 percent to 4,751.

Chipmakers retreated at the opening bell, with SMIC (0981) and Hua Hong Semiconductor (1247) slipping 1.3 percent and 1.4 percent, respectively.

Tech giants delivered mixed performance. NetEase (9999) and Baidu (9618) rose by 1.9 percent and 1.3 percent, while JD.com (9618) and Xiaomi (1810) dipped 1.1 percent and 0.7 percent.

HSBC (0005) opened 2.7 percent lower, marking the second-largest decline among blue chips, following the 4.9 percent decrease of Wuxi Biologics (2269).

𝗗𝗼𝘄𝗻𝗹𝗼𝗮𝗱 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗔𝗽𝗽 ↓