FX.co ★ Hong Kong Stocks Under Pressure After Soft China Data

Hong Kong's stock market experienced a decline of 303 points, equivalent to 1.1%, closing at 26,769 in early trading on Friday. This drop ended a five-session winning streak and retreated from the highest level in over a month. Market sentiment was dampened by an overnight sell-off on Wall Street, where Federal Reserve officials expressed caution regarding future interest rate cuts. Additionally, recent economic data from China contributed to the negative sentiment. In October, both industrial output and retail sales growth slowed to their lowest pace in 14 months. Furthermore, new yuan loans fell short of expectations, and fixed investment showed a greater-than-expected decline for the first ten months of the year. All sectors experienced a downturn, with technology and consumer stocks falling by over 1%. Notable companies experiencing significant losses included XPeng (-3.6%), Lenovo Group (-2.8%), and Techtronic Industries (-2.0%). Despite this setback, the market is still on track for a second consecutive weekly gain, having risen around 2% to date. This upward trend is supported by assurances from China's central bank to maintain a loose monetary policy to bolster the sluggish economy.