Hong Kong Shares Slip, Tech Shares Fall In Asia

Hong Kong stocks ended the morning down on Friday as investors cashed in profits ahead of the weekend while technology firms tracked a sharp sell-off in Apple.

The Hang Seng Index fell 0.4 percent, to 30,579 by the break.

On the mainland, the Shanghai Composite Index was down 1.5 percent, to 3,071 as afternoon session started, while the Shenzhen Composite Index lost 1.3 percent, to 1,791.

Most other Asian markets also struggled to maintain the previous day's positive momentum.

Taipei was off 1.4 percent, Seoul was 0.3 percent lower, while Singapore shed 0.2 percent and Sydney was 0.1 percent off.

However, Tokyo ended the morning 0.1 percent higher.

Manila jumped 1.3 percent, recovering most of Thursday's 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 in Apple overnight in New York, which came 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, TSMC plunged almost 6 percent and Foxconn lost 1 percent. Alps Technology shed 1.6 percent in Tokyo, while Seoul-listed LG Display was off 0.6 percent.

South Korean titan Samsung was more than 1 percent lower, while AAC Technologies sank 5.5 percent in Hong Kong. (AFP)

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