U.S. July PPI rose 4.7% YoY, the weakest reading since March and below the 4.9% consensus.

Hang Seng Index extended weakness, opening about 200 points down, briefly cutting losses to under 100 before resuming decline; at the midday close the index fell 0.93% to 25,160.25. Hang Seng Tech Index lost 1.79% to 4,706.73. Market turnover was HKD 135.7 bln. Sector flows: gold and nonferrous metals outperformed, optical communications and memory-chip names popped then faded, while internet and innovative-drug stocks weakened. Notable movers: China Gold International (02099.HK) +12.93%, GigaDevice Semiconductor (03986.HK) +2.30%, SMIC (00981.HK) +1.92% after results, JD.com (09618.HK) -10.08% post-results, CK Hutchison (00001.HK) -5.12% post-results, Akeso (09926.HK) -6.08%.

SMIC co-CEO Zhao Haijun said wafers that began processing or rolled off the line in Q3 were priced under a new pricing scheme.