The Hang Seng Index was little changed at 24,485 on Wednesday, swinging between modest gains and losses as investors weighed caution ahead of the Federal Reserve’s policy decision against expectations of further support measures from Beijing. The Fed is widely expected to keep interest rates on hold, while market participants look for signs of additional Chinese stimulus to shore up a slowing economy.
Sentiment remained mixed. Traders closely followed the Lujiazui Forum in Shanghai for any indication of Beijing’s next policy steps, even as they positioned for the Fed’s first policy meeting under Chairman Kevin Warsh. Ongoing concerns over the patchy nature of China’s recovery, combined with continued global investor preference for artificial intelligence-related stocks outside Hong Kong, capped any upside in the local market.
Performance at the stock level was uneven. Kingboard Holdings (+9.7%) and Sunny Optical Technology (+8.9%) led the gainers, while Knowledge Atlas (-3.5%), Metis TechBio (-2.3%), Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (-0.7%), and China Hongqiao (-0.5%) were among the more notable decliners.
