HONG KONG: China stocks fell on Wednesday as data showed the country’s services activity growth hit an eight-month low in June, while technology companies led Hong Kong shares higher.

China’s services activity expanded at the slowest pace in eight months and confidence hit a four-year low, mainly due to slower growth in new orders, a private-sector survey showed, suggesting more stimulus is needed to boost the economy.

Meanwhile, Hong Kong shares fared better, with the Hang Seng Tech Index jumping 2.5%.

Shares of Alibaba Group gained 2.5% after the e-commerce giant said it bought back shares worth $5.8 billion in the second quarter, its biggest single-quarter stock repurchase ever. Tencent also jumped 2.8% on share buyback efforts.

At the close, the Shanghai Composite index was down 0.49% at 2,982.38, snapping a three-day winning streak.

The blue-chip CSI300 index was down 0.24%. The financial sector sub-index was lower by 0.43%, the consumer staples sector was down 0.1%, the real estate index rose 1.11% and the healthcare sub-index dropped 0.37%.

The smaller Shenzhen index ended down 0.78% and the start-up board ChiNext Composite index was weaker by 0.295%.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index rose 209.43 points, or 1.18%, to 17,978.57. The Hang Seng China Enterprises index rose 1.27% to 6,455.7.

The sub-index of the Hang Seng tracking energy shares rose 0.9%, while the IT sector rose 2.7%, the financial sector ended 0.28% lower and the property sector rose 1.97%.

Around the region, MSCI’s Asia ex-Japan stock index was firmer by 0.87%, while Japan’s Nikkei index closed up 1.26%.