Chinese stocks fall as tech shares retreat

The Chinese mainland and Hong Kong equities fell on Tuesday, dragged down by weakness in technology shares.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index edged down 0.45 percent to 3,858.13 points, while the Shenzhen Component Index dropped 2.14 percent to 12,553.84. The ChiNext Index, which tracks China’s Nasdaq-style board of growth companies, slid 2.85 percent to 2,872.22, though it remains up nearly 40 percent so far this year. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index slipped 0.47 percent to 25,496.55.

The biggest decliners in the A-share market on Tuesday included communications equipment, semiconductors, power equipment, electronic components and electronic chemicals.

Technology stocks have been a major driver of China’s market rally in 2025. Despite their strong recent gains, valuations are still relatively contained, analysts at Dongxing Securities said.

Meanwhile, leverage in the market has climbed to record levels. As of Monday, outstanding margin financing and securities lending balances in the A-share market stood at 2.3 trillion yuan ($322 billion), surpassing the previous high of 2.27 trillion yuan set on June 18, 2015. Margin financing alone reached 2.28 trillion yuan, also above the 2015 peak, according to the Securities Times.