Media365
The Hang Seng Index declined 0.6 per cent to 26,414.44 as of 11am local time, adding to the 1.9 per cent loss recorded on Friday. The Hang Seng Tech Index dropped 0.6 per cent. On the mainland, the CSI 300 Index retreated 0.5 per cent and the Shanghai Composite Index shed 0.4 per cent.
Among the top decliners, online travel-booking agency Trip.com slumped 4.5 per cent to HK$550, while search-engine leader Baidu slid 2.7 per cent to HK$114.10 and pharmaceutical firm WuXi AppTec dropped 2.8 per cent to HK$102.30.
Limiting losses, Pop Mart International lifted 0.5 per cent to HK$217.40 on reports that Sony Pictures planned to produce a film featuring the blind-box toymaker’s popular Labubu dolls. Food-delivery service provider Meituan advanced 0.7 per cent to HK$100.70 and Chinese home-grown chipmaker SMIC added 1.4 per cent to HK$74.50. Alibaba Group Holding added 0.7 per cent to HK$156, after it officially announced the release of Qwen, a revamped and upgraded chatbot that the firm claimed as the “most powerful AI assistant”.
On Friday, the US government said it would publish the nonfarm payrolls for September on Thursday, the first major economic data since a 43-day shutdown halted statistical releases. The unusually long blackout on market-moving indicators has complicated assessments of the economy and muddied expectations for a rate cut in December.
Several Fed officials recently signalled that borrowing costs might stay unchanged next month, citing persistent inflation risks and the need for more clarity on the labour market.
