Aug 19 (Reuters) - China shares fell on Thursday, as a gloomy economic outlook soured investor sentiment, while tech stocks led declines in Hong Kong. ** The CSI300 index fell 0.7% to 4,858.45 at the end of the morning session, while the Shanghai Composite Index lost 0.7% to 3,460.38. ** In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index dropped 1.7% to 25,425.28. The Hong Kong China Enterprises Index lost 1.8% to 8,984.90. ** Resource-related stocks declined, with the sub-index losing 1.3%. The energy sub-index fell 2% and the coal sub-index < .CSI000820> slumped 2.3%. ** Financial chips retreated following yesterday’s gain, with the banking and brokerage sub-indexes < .CSI399975> down 2.2% and 1.6%, respectively. ** The semiconductor sub-index rose 3.1%, and an index tracking new energy vehicles < .CSI399976> went up 2.5% ** The tech-heavy STAR market rose 2.5% on the day. ** Defence sub-index extended its gains amid rising geo-political tensions and was up 2.2%. **In Hong Kong, tech stocks dragged the city’s Hang Seng Index. ** Chinese tech giant Alibaba fell 3.9% to record low of HK$165, in its seventh straight session of losses. ** China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology on Wednesday rebuked 43 apps for breaking data transfer rules. ** The list included an e-reading app owned by Alibaba Group, Tencent’s WeChat, as well as others managed by travel giant Trip.com, and video streamer iQiyi . ** Food-delivery giant Meituan plunged 5.2%, the second biggest decliner on Hang Seng. ** Tencent was down 1%, after rising as much as 3.3% earlier, after its second-quarter profit beat forecasts. ** The internet industry should brace for more regulations and uncertainty, and Beijing ultimately wanted to forge a long-term sustainable path for the sector, Tencent said in a call after the company’s results. ** Financial stocks fell in Hong Kong, with the financials sub-index down 1.9%. ** A sub-index tracking energy went down 2.8%, while the property sub-index lost 2.1%. (Reporting by Shanghai Newsroom; Editing by Rashmi Aich) Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.