Technology shares woe down Hong Kong shares to fresh lows

Hong Kong stocks dropped to four-month lows on Thursday, dragged by technology shares, as worries mount that the Sino-U.S. trade conflict could fast turn into a technology cold war and threaten global economic growth. ** The Hang Seng index fell 1.6% to 27,267.13, while the China Enterprises Index lost 1.9% to 10,401.11.

After the United States placed Huawei Technologies on a trade blacklist last week, Reuters reported late on Wednesday the U.S. administration was considering Huawei-like sanctions on Chinese video surveillance firm Hikvision over the country's treatment of its Uighur Muslim minority. ** In a report entitled, "Are you ready for the cold war in tech?", Saxo Bank's head of equity strategy, Peter Garnry, wrote, "What we are witnessing is a potential reconfiguration of global trade as it has stood since World War II ...investors should begin thinking about how sensitive their portfolios are to global supply chain-exposed shocks."

Hong Kong's technology shares tumbled nearly 4%. Index heavyweight Tencent Holdings slumped 3.8% to a four-month low in its sixth straight session of decline. ** Hong Kong-listed Huawei suppliers including Sunny Optical Technology, AAC Technologies Holdings Inc and Q Technology (Group) Co Ltd fell sharply.