Hong Kong stocks extend losses amid rate-cut caution and muted China policy outlook

The Hang Seng Index lost 0.4 per cent to 25,662.58 at 10am local time, adding to the 1.2 per cent loss recorded the previous day. The Hang Seng Tech Index dropped 0.7 per cent. On the mainland, the CSI 300 Index gained 0.1 per cent and the Shanghai Composite Index was little changed.

Chinese chipmaker Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation declined 1.6 per cent to HK$70.65 after US President Donald Trump approved US chip giant Nvidia’s request to export its H200 artificial intelligence chips to China. Search-engine giant Baidu slumped 2.7 per cent to HK$122.40, and local property developer Sun Hung Kai Properties lost 2 per cent to HK$95.10.

E-commerce company Alibaba Group Holding rose 0.5 per cent to HK$154, and peer JD.com advanced 0.2 per cent to HK$116.40. Pharmaceutical firm WuXi AppTec jumped 1.6 per cent to HK$105.20.

In the US, all three major benchmarks slipped, with traders growing cautious about the Federal Reserve’s rate-cut outlook amid persistent inflation and limited economic updates during the US government shutdown. The Dow Jones lost 0.5 per cent, the S&P 500 declined 0.4 per cent and Nasdaq retreated 0.1 per cent.