Hong Kong Market falls 1.55%

Hong Kong share market finished session lower on Thursday, 15 December 2022, snapping two days winning streak, on tracking overnight declines on Wall Street after the U.S. Federal Reserve projected higher interest rates would persist for a while. Meanwhile, weaker than expected Chinese economic data also weighed on the mood.

At closing bell, the benchmark Hang Seng Index dropped 304.86 points, or 1.55%, to 19,368.59. The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index was down 110.90 points, or 1.65%, to 6,591.46.

Stocks met selling after the U.S. central bank raised its key short-term rate by 0.50 percentage points, as widely expected, marking its seventh hike this year, but also provided a hawkish message while expressing its determination to tame inflation, pointing to further hikes and keeping rates high for longer than earlier hoped.

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) also raised its base rate by 50 basis points to 4.75%, taking it closer to the all-time high of 5% seen in January 2008.

China's economy lost more steam in November as factory output slowed and retail sales extended declines, hobbled by surging COVID-19 cases and widespread virus curbs. China's industrial output rose 2.2% in November from a year earlier, slowing significantly from the 5% growth seen in October, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) data showed on Thursday. The bureau also said that retail sales fell 5.9% amid broad-based weakness in the services sector, following a 0.5% dip in October. Fixed asset investment expanded 5.3% in the first 11 months of the year, versus slower from growth of 5.8% during January-October. The November jobless rate crept up to 5.6% from 5.5% in October, while the house price index was steady at an annual -1.6%.

Shares of interest rate-sensitive stocks led losses. Country Garden Services slid 1.5% to HK$18.68, and developer Longfor Group fell 0.6% to HK$25.30. HSBC fell 1.8% to HK$47.20, and its subsidiary Hang Seng Bank slipped 0.4% to HK$127.70. Alibaba Group retreated 4% to HK$85.90, and Meituan lost 3.3% to HK$176.80.

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