Hang Seng softens to six week low

Hong Kong equities eased today, holding onto a downward trajectory amid mixed cues from Asian equities. Overall sentiment was lax as China's sluggish economic data and trade frictions with the European Union weighed on the sentiments. The Hang Seng Index dropped 0.1% to close at 17,915.55. The index edged up in intraday moves amid a modest uptick in Chinese stocks but fell back and closed around six week low.

Data out yesterday showed that China's industrial production growth slowed. Industrial production growth decelerated to 5.6% in May from 6.7% in April, the National Bureau of Statistics reported. China's retail sales posted a faster expansion of 3.7% annually after rising 2.3% in April. Another data showed that in the first five months of 2024, fixed asset investment increased 4% from the previous year, slower than the 4.2% rise posted in January to April period. Despite the weak credit and property investment numbers, the People's Bank of China (PBOC) kept the one-year medium-term lending facility rate unchanged on Monday.

Trade worries also hurt the mood for Hong Kong share market participants today. China announced an anti-dumping investigation into certain pork products imported from the EU on Monday, following the EU's decision last week to raise tariffs on Chinese EVs from July 4.

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