US Treasury yields remained lower after initial jobless claims data; 10-year yield down 3.8bps at 4.453%.

Saudi broadcaster Al Arabiya reported Trump told mediators he would refuse to release funds to Iran before signing an agreement.

The HSI opened lower and extended losses, down 1.40% at midday; the Hang Seng Tech Index fell 1.43%. Heavyweight tech names Alibaba (09988.HK), Meituan (03690.HK) and Baidu (09888.HK) each slid more than 2%. Auto shares underperformed, with NIO-SW (09866.HK), Li Auto (02015.HK) and SERES (09927.HK) off over 3%. Semiconductor and chip-related stocks bucked the market: GigaDevice (03986.HK) rose nearly 10%, 02577.HK gained more than 5% and Hua Hong Semiconductor (01347.HK) climbed over 4%.