China, Hong Kong stocks edge lower as tech shares extend slide
HONG KONG, Oct 27 (Reuters) - China and Hong Kong stocks inched lower on Tuesday, giving up opening gains as tech shares resumed their decline, while faster industrial profits growth failed to lift sediment.
** By the midday break, the Shanghai Composite index .SSEC was down 0.1% at 3,692.58 points. The blue-chip CSI300 index .CSI300 was also down 0.1%.
** The tech sector led declines, with the start-up board ChiNext Composite index .CNT weaker by 0.5% and Shanghai's tech-focused STAR50 index .STAR50 down 1.5%.
** The selloff in Chinese AI-related shares continued, with the CSI Semiconductor Index .CSI931865 down 2.2% at a fresh six-month low and the CSI AI Index .CSI930713 down 0.8%.
** In a sign of risk sentiment remaining fragile, the defensive CSI Banks Index .CSI399986 added 0.8%.
** In Hong Kong, the benchmark Hang Seng Index .HSI was down 0.1%, and the Hang Seng Tech Index .HSTECH declined 0.8%.
** "The market may stage a short-term rebound after the recent selloff, but a more sustained recovery could require further de-leveraging over the medium term as some crowded positions have yet to be fully cleared," analysts at Sinolink Securities said in a note.
** China's central bank said on Monday it had decided to establish a swap facility to provide emergency liquidity to non-bank financial institutions facing large-scale redemptions.
** "The establishment of such facilities to address large redemptions at non-bank financial institutions could keep short-term liquidity conditions accommodative," Huajin Securities analysts said in a note.
** Elsewhere, data released on Tuesday showed China's industrial profits grew at a faster pace in September but the sectoral divide remained pronounced.
** Around the region, Asian stocks climbed on Tuesday as AI firm Anthropic's eagerly anticipated IPO filing lifted risk appetite ahead of tech earnings that will be a test for the AI trade, and central bank meetings that will influence near-term interest rates.