HONG KONG: Hong Kong stocks declined on Monday, dragged down by tech firms, amid regulatory concerns after China's central bank called for an overhaul at Ant Group, although upbeat China data curbed losses.

The Hang Seng index fell 0.3%, to 26,314.63, while the China Enterprises Index lost 1.1%, to 10,311.48 points.

Falling the most, the Hang Seng tech index slumped 4.3%, while the Hang Seng IT index dived 5.9%.

Hong Kong shares of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd dropped 8% in its sixth straight session of decline.

Shares in new economy companies, including Alibaba, Tencent and Meituan may stay under pressure, and it's still early for investors o hunt for bargains now, Guodu Hong Kong said in a note.

Upbeat data on the mainland helped curb losses, however.

At close, China's A-shares were trading at a premium of 40.13% over Hong Kong-listed H-shares.

China's central bank disclosed on Sunday it had asked the country's payments giant Ant Group Co Ltd to shake up its lending and other consumer finance operations, in the latest blow to its billionaire founder and controlling shareholder Jack Ma.

Profits at China's industrial firms grew robustly in November for a seventh month of gains, supported by strong industrial production and sales, as manufacturers continue their recovery from the Covid-19 downturn.