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The Hang Seng Index fell 1.6 per cent to 25,629.06 as of 9.43am local time. The Hang Seng Tech Index dropped 1.3 per cent.
On the mainland, the CSI 300 Index slid 0.8 per cent and the Shanghai Composite Index retreated 0.7 per cent.
Tencent Holdings tumbled 5.1 per cent to HK$522.50 on concerns that its heavy investment in artificial intelligence would erode earnings. Fourth-quarter net income for the social media giant had come in line with analysts’ projections.
Fed chair Jerome Powell said Middle East hostilities made the path for interest rates difficult to gauge after the central bank left the benchmark borrowing costs in the range of 3.5 per cent to 3.75 per cent in its second policy meeting this year. Hours later, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority kept the city’s base rate at 4 per cent, tracking the Fed to maintain the Hong Kong dollar’s peg to the US dollar.
“The Fed opted not to change course as it sails across a sea of uncertainty and left the Fed funds rate unchanged,” said Kerry Craig, a strategist at JPMorgan Asset Management. “The decision reflected a more unified view among policymakers as the dispersion in the dot plot narrowed and the Fed acknowledged the difficulty in providing accurate forecasts given that the conflict in the Middle East has widened the range of possible economic outcomes.”
