Hong Kong shares open lower as US inflation fuels rate hike bets
Hong Kong stocks opened lower on Thursday as hotter-than-expected US inflation boosted expectations of a December rate hike. The Hang Seng Index fell 0.8 per cent, with tech and chip stocks leading declines.
Hong Kong stocks opened lower on Thursday, as investors increased bets on a December interest rate hike following hotter-than-expected inflation data in the United States.
The benchmark Hang Seng Index dropped 195 points, or 0.8 per cent, to 24,119 points. The technology gauge fell 2.21 per cent to 4,082 points.
Lenovo (0992) declined the sharpest among blue-chip stocks, down 7.6 per cent, followed by CATL (3750), which fell 7 per cent. Chipmakers also weighed on the market, with Hua Hong Grace Semiconductor (1347) retreating 5.6 per cent and Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (0981) sliding 3.3 per cent.
Tech giants broadly slipped, with Tencent (0700) and Alibaba (9988) each decreasing nearly 2 per cent.