Hong Kong stocks fall for a fourth day; Wharf, SHK rally on hopes for Fed rate cut

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Fed rate-cut expectations boost some Hong Kong stocks, despite oil stock dip; property developers gain

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A man walks outside Hong Kong’s stock exchange. Photo: SCMP/Sun Yeung

Zhang Shidongin Shanghai

Published: 10:27am, 5 Sep 2024Updated: 4:39pm, 5 Sep 2024

Hong Kong stocks fell for a fourth day in a row, the longest losing streak in a month, as investors weighed the prospect of a rate cut by the Federal Reserve later this month following a weak US jobs report.

The Hang Seng Index was down 0.1 per cent to 17,444.30 at the close, erasing an earlier gain of as much as 0.6 per cent. For the week, the benchmark is down 3 per cent. The Hang Seng Tech Index added 0.1 per cent Thursday and the Shanghai Composite Index was up by the same amount.

Oil producers were the primary drag on the market as fuel prices hovered around their lowest levels this year. China Petroleum and Chemical Corp, also known as Sinopec, tumbled 6.1 per cent to HK$4.65, while PetroChina slid 2.9 per cent to HK$6.32.

On the positive side, Hong Kong property developers gained on optimism that lower borrowing costs will encourage more home purchases, as the city’s interest rate is linked with the US’s using a fixed-exchange rate. CK Asset Holdings gained 2.6 per cent to HK$31.40; Wharf Real Estate Investment rallied 2.1 per cent to HK$22; and Sun Hung Kai Properties rose 1.9 per cent to HK$75.15.

New job openings in the US fell short of consensus estimates in July and hit their lowest level since 2021, triggering a slide in the yield on two-year Treasury notes. A report on US payrolls is due on Friday, which will offer more clues on how the Fed might react to the job market data at its coming policy meeting.