Hang Seng Tries to Rebound, PBoC Opens Door to Cuts
Hong Kong stocks edged up to 26,944 in early trading on Friday, attempting to reverse the previous session's decline, as most sectors posted modest gains. Sentiment improved after a People's Bank of China (PBoC) official stated that the central bank sees "room" to cut the RRR and policy interest rates throughout this year to support growth.
The PBoC will also lower interest rates on structural policy instruments, including cutting the one-year relinquishing facility rate to 1.25% from 1.5%, effective Monday. On a weekly basis, the Hang Seng is on track to rise by around 2.5% after last week's decline, helped by the US-Taiwan trade deal that has fueled optimism in the chip sector—with TSMC linked to a planned factory expansion in Arizona as part of a major investment commitment, while the US cut tariffs on Taiwanese goods to 15% from 20%.
Despite the improvement, market gains were still restrained by caution ahead of the release of key Chinese data next week, particularly fourth-quarter GDP and December activity indicators such as retail sales and industrial production. On the stock market, key movers included Techtronic Industries (+3.9%), SMIC (+2.6%), Minimax Group (+2.3%), and CK Hutchison (+2.2%). (asd)
Source: Newsmaker.id
