By Summer Zhen HONG KONG, July 3 (Reuters) –

China stocks fell on Wednesday as data showed the country’s services activity growth hit an 8-month low in June, while Hong Kong shares jumped led by tech. 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 2.9% by midday 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.

* By the midday break, the Shanghai Composite index declined 0.4% at 2,985.01 points, while the blue-chip CSI 300 index slipped 0.14%. * The financial sector sub-index fell 0.6%, the consumer staples sector rose 0.3%, the real estate index climbed 2.08% and the healthcare sub-index edged up 0.07%.

** Chinese H-shares listed in Hong Kong rose 1.22% to 6,452.65, while the Hang Seng Index was up 1.18% at 17,978.52. ** The smaller Shenzhen index was down 0.19%, the start-up board ChiNext Composite index was higher by 0.4% and Shanghai’s tech-focused STAR50 index was up 0.88%​.

** In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng energy index rose 0.9% while the IT sector rose 2.2%. ** Around the region, MSCI’s Asia ex-Japan stock index was firmer by 0.70% while Japan’s Nikkei index was up 1.14%.

** The yuan was quoted at 7.2734 per U.S. dollar, 0.03% weaker than the previous close of 7.2712.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)