Hang Seng Index falls below 25,000 points by midday

Hong Kong stocks fell for the fifth consecutive trading day and lost the 25,000-point mark by midday on Wednesday. 

The benchmark Hang Seng Index dropped by 142 points, or nearly 0.6 percent to 24,980 points by noon. The half-day market turnover was HK$144.4 billion. 

The Hang Seng Tech Index dipped 1.26 percent to 5,472 points at noon. 

In the mainland, the Shanghai Stock Exchange Composite Index was flat at 3,725 points and the Shenzhen Stock Exchange Component Index slid 0.66 percent to 11,743 points at the midday close.