Hang Seng Rally Breaks, Mainland China Pressures Sentiment
The Hang Seng Index closed Thursday's trading in the red, down 76 points or 0.3% to 26,924. This decline also ended the rally, after the index had strengthened earlier in the session, and this was the first time it had fallen in the past five days.
Sentiment worsened as mainland Chinese markets fell for a third straight day, ahead of the release of key data next week—from fourth-quarter GDP to a series of December activity indicators such as industrial production and retail sales. Pressure also came from the global market, after Wall Street weakened again on Wednesday, dampening risk appetite in Asia.
Domestically, the market was shocked by the sudden tightening of margin requirements by Chinese regulators. This policy was seen as an attempt to cool a market that had recently become overheated due to a surge in leveraged transactions and positions.
On the Hong Kong trading floor, the greatest pressure came from technology and consumer stocks, which offset limited gains in the property and financial sectors.
One highlight was Trip.com, which plummeted 18.7% after regulators launched an antitrust investigation. Alibaba also fell 2.1% despite recently announcing improvements to its Qwen AI app, which targets the consumer market.
Several other stocks also experienced corrections, including Kuaishou Technology (-2.8%), Pop Mart International (-1.5%), and China Hongqiao Group (-1.3%).
Source: Newsmaker.id
