Hong Kong stocks slip as HKMA currency intervention stokes rate concerns
Hong Kong
stocks retreated from a three-month high as property developers and lenders slumped after the monetary authority intervened in the currency market and mopped up liquidity, threatening to push up local interest rates.
The Hang Seng Index fell 0.5 per cent to 24,348.08 at 10.03am local time on Thursday. The Hang Seng Tech Index gained 0.3 per cent. On the mainland, the CSI 300 Index and the Shanghai Composite Index both slipped 0.1 per cent.
Sun Hung Kai Properties tumbled 3.8 per cent to HK$89.50 while peers Henderson Land lost 3.7 per cent to HK$27.60. HSBC slipped 0.3 per cent to HK$95.35, Bank of China (Hong Kong) weakened 0.8 per cent to HK$4.72 and ICBC fell 0.6 per cent to HK$6.41.
The
Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) sold US$1.2 billion and bought the equivalent worth of Hong Kong dollars at HK$7.85 during New York trading hours on Wednesday. It was the first move since 2023 to prevent the currency from weakening beyond the weak side of its trading band.
It had
forewarned that the intervention would stoke local interbank rates and make property financing more expensive.
Other tech leaders also declined, surrendering some of their best gains this week. Alibaba Group Holding fell 2.4 per cent to HK$112.70 and Tencent Holdings slipped 0.4 per cent to HK$510.50. New Oriental Education and Technology slumped 4.1 per cent to HK$42.55, giving up some of the previous gains spurred by a JPMorgan rating upgrade.
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