HK equities drop 2.0pc

SINGAPORE: Hong Kong's Hang Seng index fell more than 2 per cent on Friday as tech stocks came under pressure. The benchmark index slipped 2.64 per cent in the final hour of trade, while the Hang Seng Tech index dropped 5.41 per cent. Hang Seng heavyweights Alibaba and Meituan dropped 7.01 per cent and 7.18 per cent respectively. Alibaba is on track for a third straight session of losses following news earlier this week that several Ant Group executives have stepped down as Alibaba partners. Shares of Standard Chartered initially popped more than 2 per cent after the bank reported a 19 per cent jump in profits for the first half of the year and announced a $500 million share buyback. The stock later pared gains, but was still up 0.72 per cent in afternoon trade. — CNBC