(Bloomberg) -- Is it time to catch the global stock market’s biggest falling knife?

For watchers of Tencent Holdings Ltd., it’s an increasingly pressing question. The Chinese internet giant’s record-breaking sell-off is getting worse, with Thursday’s 6.8 percent rout bringing losses since late January to $252 billion -- by far the biggest wipeout of shareholder wealth worldwide. The stock, one of the most widely held in emerging markets, has tumbled for an unprecedented 10 straight sessions.

As investors around the world debate whether the best days are over for the tech-led boom in global equities, Tencent has emerged as a key market bellwether. The company’s more than 67,000 percent return from its 2004 initial public offering through January trounced that of every other large-cap stock worldwide, and its slide this year presaged a steep drop in tech shares from Tokyo to New York. Some money managers say it’s too soon to call a bottom.

“While it’s a good company and we obviously still like it, at the moment it’s the proxy of all the things investors want to avoid,” said Virginie Robert, the founder and president of Paris-based Constance Associes, whose global tech fund beat 99 percent of peers tracked by Bloomberg this year. Robert, who has an underweight position in Tencent, said she’ll refrain from adding to holdings until the company provides more clarity on its business outlook.

Jane Yip, a spokeswoman for Tencent, didn’t respond to requests for comment.

Founded by billionaire Pony Ma in 1998, Tencent had until recently captivated investors with its massively popular online gaming business, payments system and WeChat social networking platform. The Shenzhen-based company’s integral role in the lives of hundreds of millions of Chinese helped propel average annual earnings growth of about 48 percent over the past decade, faster than Apple Inc.’s 35 percent.

Now questions are mounting over whether Tencent’s growth is sustainable. That’s partly because of macroeconomic concerns, including a slowing Chinese economy and a weakening yuan.

But the biggest worry for many observers is regulatory meddling from Beijing. The company’s cash cow -- online gaming -- has become a liability for the stock after an industrywide government crackdown left the business, which accounts for about 40 percent of Tencent’s revenue, clouded in uncertainty. The country halted approvals for new games in March and authorities have given little indication of when the ban will end.

Policy makers are also tightening restrictions on Tencent’s fast-growing internet finance business as they try to reduce systemic risks in an economy saddled with record levels of debt. The regulatory squeeze has contributed to a 20 percent drop in analysts’ 2018 earnings estimates since February, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.