The Hang Seng plunged 551 points, or 2.2%, to close at 24,220 on Thursday, ending a two-session winning streak amid broad-based losses. The index fell from a three-year peak as traders took profits. Modest gains in US futures failed to lift sentiment after Beijing's latest plan to boost consumption and stabilize stock and real estate markets lacked clarity on timing and scale. Concerns also grew after Fitch Ratings warned that higher US tariffs, including a projected effective rate of 35% on Chinese goods, could shave 1 ppt off China's GDP by 2026. Fitch also forecast global growth to slow significantly to 2.3% in 2025 from 2.9% in 2024, citing trade tensions. Limiting further losses were interest rate moves from the Fed and the People's Bank of China. While holding rates on hold, the Fed signaled two cuts this year. Meanwhile, the People's Bank of China kept its key lending rate at a record low for a fifth month. Tencent fell 3.7% on a cautious capital spending outlook, while Kuaishou Tech (-5.0%), KE Holdings (-4.9%), and Meituan (-4.2%) also slumped.
Source: Trading Economics
