FX.co ★ Hong Kong Shares Kick Off Week Lower

Hong Kong stocks declined by 49 points, or 0.2%, to 26,703 during early trading on Monday. This dip interrupted a three-day winning streak, as U.S. futures experienced a sharp drop following a mixed close on Wall Street last Friday—primarily influenced by geopolitical tensions and weakening technology stocks, just days before the Federal Reserve's anticipated interest rate decision.

Within Hong Kong, the third-quarter business sentiment fell slightly to -3 from -2, maintaining nearly two years in negative territory. Additionally, investor caution heightened prior to the release of China's industrial profit figures for 2025, following a subdued growth of 0.1% between January and November, and a significant 13% decline in November alone.

Despite these challenges, losses were mitigated by a four-day upswing in mainland equities. This positive movement came after the central bank enhanced liquidity last week to accommodate Chinese New Year funding needs in February. The declines in the technology and consumer sectors were more pronounced than gains recorded in the property and financial sectors. Among the notable underperformers were XPeng, Kuaishou, SMIC, and Xiaomi, with declines of 4.0%, 3.1%, 2.1%, and 1.9% respectively.