FX.co ★ Shares in Hong Kong Extend Weakness on Trade, Fed Jitters

Hong Kong's stock market experienced a decline for the second consecutive session, dropping by 46 points or 0.2% to 25,469 on Wednesday morning. This downturn followed inconclusive U.S.-China trade discussions. While it remains conceivable that the current tariff truce could continue, Treasury Secretary Bessent indicated that President Trump would make the ultimate decision. Additionally, investor caution was noticeable ahead of the Federal Reserve's interest rate announcement later today. Most analysts suggest that the Fed officials prefer to evaluate the inflationary effects of tariffs before making any moves, considering Trump's looming August 1 tariff deadline. The downturn was led primarily by technology stocks, followed by consumer and property sectors, as investors awaited the release of official and independent PMI data for July. Some losses were mitigated by advances in mainland Chinese equities, supported by Beijing's introduction of a national childcare subsidy aimed at increasing the birth rate, just before the significant Politburo meeting scheduled for later in the month. Among the early underperformers were Li Auto, with a 10.5% drop, SMIC, down 3.7%, Techtronic Industries falling by 3.0%, and Pop Mart decreasing by 2.8%.