FX.co ★ Hong Kong Shares Inch Higher to Begin November

In the early November trading session, Hong Kong's stock market saw an uptick of 47 points, or 0.2%, reaching 25,949. This marked a modest attempt at recovery following three straight sessions of declines, buoyed predominantly by gains in financial and property sectors. The positive sentiment was further bolstered by a notable rise in U.S. futures, following Wall Street’s gains recorded both weekly and monthly on Friday. Investors reacted positively to statements from the White House, indicating that China is set to remove export controls on rare earth elements and discontinue investigations into American semiconductor companies as part of a new trade agreement. On the domestic front, Hong Kong’s economy experienced a 3.8% year-on-year growth in the third quarter, the strongest since late 2023, fueled by robust domestic demand and solid exports. Additionally, retail sales surged by 4.8% in September, marking the highest growth in nearly two years. Despite these positive indicators, the upward momentum was somewhat restrained due to a private survey revealing a slowdown in China’s factory activity growth from a six-month high in October, coupled with official PMI data showing the steepest decline in six months. Among the early underperformers were companies like SMIC, which declined by 4.0%, Geely Auto down by 3.7%, and Zijin Mining falling by 3.3%.