China stocks extend losses as global tech selloff weighs on sentiment

Risk aversion deepens across mainland Chinese equities as global uncertainties unsettle investors.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.9% in early trading, while the blue-chip CSI300 Index declined 1.1%. Both indexes extended losses from the previous session, when the CSI300 closed at its lowest level since July 2025 and the Shanghai Composite ended at its weakest level in more than a year.

The CSI300 has now fallen more than 20% from its most recent closing peak on June 22, meeting some definitions of a bear market. Under the more widely accepted definition, the index has remained in bear-market territory since its closing-level peak in 2007.

Global markets faced mounting pressure overnight as investors retreated from riskier assets amid a combination of weakness in artificial intelligence-related technology stocks, escalating tensions in the Middle East and growing concerns over French sovereign debt markets.

Analysts at UOB said these factors had triggered a sharp shift towards safer assets across global markets, Reuters reported.

The technology-led selloff on Wall Street added to concerns about stretched valuations in AI-linked stocks, while tensions following deadly attacks on Saudi Aramco infrastructure heightened geopolitical uncertainty.

Meanwhile, in Hong Kong, the benchmark Hang Seng Index was little changed in early trading on Friday, bucking the sharper declines across mainland Chinese equities.