Hong Kong stocks slide to 2-week low as Fed sees inflation risk amid Middle East tensions
Hong Kong
stocks dropped to a two-week low after the Federal Reserve flagged increasing inflationary risk for the economy and the conflict in the Middle East jeopardised global oil supply.
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The Hang Seng Index fell 0.8 per cent to 23,516.48 as of 10.12am local time. The Hang Seng Tech Index shed 0.7 per cent.
On the mainland, the CSI 300 Index and the Shanghai Composite Index both retreated 0.3 per cent.
Alibaba Group Holding slipped 0.6 per cent to HK$111.50, and Tencent Holdings fell 1.5 per cent to HK$500.50. Rate-sensitive stocks also fell after the Fed kept borrowing costs unchanged for a fourth time this year. Sun Hung Kai Properties lost 2.1 per cent to HK$83.50, and Hang Lung Properties slipped 0.9 per cent to HK$6.77.
Fed Chair Jerome Powell said that increases in tariffs are likely to boost prices and that the effects on inflation could be more persistent.
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'Increases in tariffs this year are likely to push up prices and weigh on economic activity,' he said. 'This is something we know is coming, we just do not know the size of it.'
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