14.11.202508:24:25UTC+00Hang Seng Sinks Almost 2% Even as Weekly Gains Hold

On Friday, the Hang Seng Index experienced a significant decline, dropping 500 points or 1.9% to settle at 26,572. This marked its steepest one-day fall since mid-October and ended a streak of four consecutive days of gains. The downturn was triggered by a decrease in optimism regarding a potential U.S. interest rate cut in the coming month, following a slump on Wall Street on Thursday. Investor sentiment was further impacted by remarks from China's statistics bureau, highlighting enduring external challenges and pressures related to domestic restructuring. Recent economic data revealed that China's industrial output and retail sales in October grew at their slowest pace in 14 months, while fixed investment dropped by 1.7% over the first ten months—a record decline for this timeframe. All sectors witnessed declines, with technology and consumer stocks each falling over 2%. Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp (SMIC) saw a 2.7% decrease due to worries about a memory-chip shortage affecting first-quarter orders. Other notable decliners included XPeng, which fell 6.9%, China Hongqiao down 3.0%, and Kuaishou Technology with a 2.9% loss. Despite these setbacks, the market still recorded a second consecutive weekly gain, rising by 1.3%, buoyed by an ongoing U.S. trade truce and renewed commitments from the People's Bank of China to maintain accommodative monetary policy.