NEW YORK, Dec. 16 (Xinhua) — U.S.-listed Chinese companies traded mostly lower on Thursday with eight of the top 10 stocks by weight in the S&P U.S. Listed China 50 index ending the day on a downbeat note.

Shares of Pinduoduo and NIO slid 3.45 percent and 2.34 percent, respectively, leading the laggards in the top 10 stocks in the index.

Shares of BeiGene and Yum China Holdings advanced 9.85 percent and 1.9 percent, respectively, the only two gainers in the top 10 stocks.

U.S. stocks closed lower on Thursday, pressured by overall weakness in the tech sector.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 29.79 points, or 0.08 percent, to 35,897.64. The S&P 500 decreased 41.18 points, or 0.87 percent, to 4,668.67. The Nasdaq Composite Index shed 385.15 points, or 2.47 percent, to 15,180.43.

The Cboe Volatility Index, widely considered as the best fear gauge in the stock market, rose 6.64 percent to 20.57.

As of Wednesday, the S&P U.S. Listed China 50 index, which is designed to track the performance of the 50 largest Chinese companies listed on U.S. exchanges by total market cap, stood at 2,932.12, marking a 12.91-percent loss for the month-to-date returns and a 43.88-percent slide for the year-to-date returns.