Hong Kong's stock market declined by 82 points, equivalent to a 0.3% dip, reaching 24,916 during Tuesday's morning trading session. This decrease marked a halt to a two-day upward momentum as investors capitalized on recent gains, following the Hang Seng Index achieving a three-and-a-half-year high earlier. Additionally, a sense of caution emerged with the approaching August 1 tariff deadline, amid reports of the EU considering broader countermeasures in light of diminishing hopes for a deal with Washington.
Partially mitigating these losses were the record high performances on Wall Street, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq indices climbing due to optimism surrounding upcoming major tech earnings. Locally, Hong Kong’s annual inflation rate eased to a three-month low of 1.4% in June, despite reduced electricity subsidies, while core inflation steadied at 1.0%. A government spokesperson remarked that both domestic and external price pressures are expected to remain broadly contained in the near term.
In the market, most sectors saw declines, particularly the financial and tech stocks. Early underperformers included Horizon Robotics, which fell by 3.0%, Li Auto with a 2.4% decrease, Smoore Holdings declining by 2.3%, and a 2.0% drop for Bank of China Hong Kong.
