Hong Kong stocks fell for a fifth straight day on Thursday, as investor sentiment remained gloomy amid the fear of a looming global trade war taking center stage.

The Hang Seng Index slid 0.58%, or 137.66 points, at 23,462.65. The Hang Seng China Enterprises index also fell 0.48%, or 41.52 points, at 8,640.61.

Trade tensions remained high after the Trump-led US government said it would respond to the EU's countermeasures against the US's 25% steel and aluminum tariffs, the SCMP reported Thursday.

The US economic policy, which has introduced a number of new tariffs since Donald Trump took office, including on various Chinese firms, is fueling uncertainty and trade frictions, the SCMP reported citing a senior analyst at Moody's.

The possibility of a global trade war continues to negatively impact business and investor confidence, he said, with global gross domestic product growth expected to decline to 2.4% in 2025 and 2026 from 2.7% in the year 2024.

In corporate news, Venus Medtech (Hangzhou) (HKG:2500) dropped 66% after it resumed trading on fulfilling the resumption guidance set out by the Hong Kong bourse.

Trading in the heart valve medical device manufacturer's shares had been suspended since November 2023 after the discovery of certain unauthorized transactions involving two former executive directors.

Additionally, Alibaba Group (HKG:9988) fell over 2% despite further progress in the artificial intelligence niche. The e-commerce giant launched an AI model that can read emotions in a bid to leave OpenAI's new model behind.