Hong Kong Joins Asian Retreat As Tech Shares Fall

Hong Kong shares ended the week with sharp losses as technology firms tracked a sell-off in Apple, while real estate firms were hit by worries about rising interest rates.

The Hang Seng Index fell 0.9 percent, to 30,418.

On the mainland, the Shanghai Composite Index slipped 1.5 percent, to 3,071 while the Shenzhen Composite Index dropped 2 percent, to 1,778.

Other Asian markets mostly fell on Friday. While worries about the Syrian crisis and a potential China-US trade war keep dealers on edge, focus has for now moved to the corporate arena as the earnings season gets into full swing.

Taipei was off 1.8 percent and Seoul was 0.4 percent lower. Tokyo ended 0.1 percent down, while Singapore shed 0.6 percent and Sydney was 0.2 percent off.

There were also losses in Jakarta and Wellington. But Manila rose 0.8 percent, recovering some of Thursday's sharp losses, though the index is down 10 percent so far this year on worries about inflation, a weak currency and fears the central bank may need to lift interest rates sharply.

But the big news was a near 3 percent plunge of Apple shares in New York overnight, after major chip supplier Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) forecast sales for the present quarter would be about US$1 billion down on analyst forecasts.

This fuelled concerns that the smartphone sector, a massive driver of revenue for tech firms, including Apple and Samsung, was beginning to wane. The tech-rich Nasdaq lost 0.8 percent in New York.

Asia-listed Apple suppliers and other tech firms fell. In Taipei, market heavyweight TSMC plunged more than 6 percent and Foxconn lost 1.2 percent. Alps shed 1.8 percent in Tokyo, while Seoul-listed LG Display was off 1.2 percent.

South Korean titan Samsung was more than 2 percent lower, while AAC Technologies sank 7.3 percent in Hong Kong. (AFP)