Updates to the close

SHANGHAI, June 11 (Reuters) - China and Hong Kong stocks ended lower on Thursday, led by declines in tech shares tracking weakness in regional peers, while a fresh escalation in Middle East tensions also weighed on investor sentiment.

* The United States launched new strikes against multiple targets overnight in Iran, and President Donald Trump vowed even more attacks if no peace deal is secured.

* At the market close, the benchmark Shanghai Composite index .SSEC declined 0.2%, while the blue-chip CSI300 index .CSI300 dropped 0.6%.

* In Hong Kong, the benchmark Hang Seng Index .HSI fell 0.7%, marking a seventh straight losing session and its longest losing streak since October.

* Tech shares dropped across the board, with Shenzhen's startup board ChiNext .CNT sliding 1.1%, and Hong Kong's tech shares .HSTECH shedding 1.5%.

* The decline followed weakness in regional peers, as MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS fell 0.3%.

* Analysts at HSBC Qianhai Securities said in a note that the rally in AI hardware stocks could resume amid continued capex spending from major cloud service providers and solid earnings fundamentals, "but a more balanced approach on AI vs non-AI is warranted in the second half of this year".

* Hong Kong shares of e-commerce giant Alibaba 9988.HK fell 5.4% to their lowest closing price since July 2025, after reports about its Dingtalk CEO Chen Hang's departure following debates about AI focus.

* Meanwhile, U.S. consumer inflation increased at its fastest pace in three years in May, boosted by surging prices for energy products amid the Middle East conflict, and giving the Federal Reserve more reason to maintain a hawkish tilt into 2027.

* Separately, market participants will shift their attention to China's May credit lending data to gauge the health of the economy, following an unexpected contraction in new yuan loans in April.