Hong Kong stocks trade sideways as investors weigh rate-cut odds after mixed US job data

The Hang Seng Index rose 0.2 per cent to 25,291.44 at the noon break, swinging between gains and losses in morning trading. The Hang Seng Tech Index gained less than 0.1 per cent.

On the mainland, the CSI 300 Index climbed 0.7 per cent and the Shanghai Composite Index added 0.2 per cent.

Chinese sportswear maker Li Ning rallied 4.4 per cent to HK$19.09 and apparel maker Shenzhou International Group added 2.3 per cent to HK$63.45. On the downside, Hong Kong machine tool maker Techtronic Industries retreated 2.2 per cent to HK$89.65 and BYD slid 1.1 per cent to HK$93.55.

While the November data showed that the US jobs market was softening, the deterioration was not alarming enough to prompt the US Federal Reserve to cut the interest rate in the near term, analysts said. The probability of a quarter-point cut next month now stood at 25.5 per cent, according to CME Group. That would test the resilience of US and global stocks, which traded near record highs amid stretched valuations.

“The US jobs market is cooling and on track for a soft landing,” said Zhang Di, an analyst at China Galaxy Securities in Beijing. “But we think that there’s limited urgency for the Fed to deliver a rate reduction in January and that the Fed may wait for one or two months to re-evaluate the window for the rate cut after access to data that is less distorted.”