China, HK stocks open lower as global tech selloff spreads to Asia

Investors remain cautious as concerns rise over the AI-driven market rally

FILE PHOTO: A passersby walks past an electronic screen displaying the current Japanese Yen exchange rate against the US dollar, Euro and other foreign currencies in Tokyo, Japan May 12, 2026. REUTERS

China and Hong Kong stocks opened lower on Monday, tracking regional peers as investors grew concerned over the sustainability of the AI rally after strong US jobs data fuelled fears of Federal Reserve rate hikes.

China's blue-chip CSI300 Index opened 2.4 percent lower, while the Shanghai Composite Index was down 2.2 percent. Hong Kong's benchmark Hang Seng opened 1.5 percent lower.

The tech rally in China has been driven largely by the chip supply chain, closely mirroring performances in global stocks such as Micron and Nvidia.

Shares of Zhongji Innolight, an Nvidia supplier of optical components and a bellwether for China's AI rally, fell 4 percent at market open.

The company has recently overtaken CATL as the biggest weight in China's CSI300 benchmark.

The tech-focused STAR50 Index opened 4.8 percent lower, while onshore semiconductor shares slumped more than 5 percent.

Wall Street's nine-week winning streak ended with a thud on Friday, as red-hot technology stocks suffered their largest daily decline since April 2025 after a hot jobs report fuelled fears of a hawkish policy pivot from the US central bank.