By Yifan Wang

Hong Kong technology stocks were sharply lower in early trade Tuesday following steep losses for the sector in U.S. trading overnight.

Shares of Meituan suffered the heaviest losses on the benchmark Hang Seng Index, dropping as much as 8.7% to HK$240, its lowest intraday level since September last year.

The dive came after Shanghai authorities said late Monday that Meituan had been ordered to revamp its operations and correct potential abuse of its market dominance, a further move by regulators to rein in the Chinese delivery giant after Beijing's move last month to launch an antitrust probe into the firm.

Meituan's losses Tuesday extended the stock's fall on Monday, when it lost 7.1% amid controversy over a social media post by company co-founder Wang Xing, which some viewed as a criticism of the Chinese government.

Meituan's peers, internet giants Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and Tencent Holdings Ltd., declined 3.6% and 3.2%, respectively.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq shed 2.5% in overnight U.S. trading, amid concerns that higher inflation may erode the value of future earnings of fast-growing technology companies.

Write to Yifan Wang at yifan.wang@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

05-11-21 0009ET