Hong Kong stocks retreat amid worries about economic growth as ‘two sessions’ meeting gets under way in Beijing

Hong Kong stocks retreat amid worries about economic growth as ‘two sessions’ meeting gets under way in Beijing

05 Mar Hong Kong stocks retreat amid worries about economic growth as ‘two sessions’ meeting gets under way in Beijing

Posted at 02:44h in Asia by

Hong Kong stocks slipped after China’s GDP target failed to impress investors amid growth worries in the world’s second largest economy as the country’s annual parliamentary meeting, which will provide insights into the government’s plans for the year ahead, gets under way in Beijing.

The Hang Seng Index declined 1.3 per cent to 16,381.21 as of 9.50am local time, the biggest retreat in nearly a week. The Tech Index tumbled 2.7 per cent, while the Shanghai Composite Index was little changed. A gauge tracking Chinese stocks listed in New York tumbled 4 per cent overnight.

Tencent slipped 1.7 per cent to HK$271.40, Alibaba lost 2 per cent to HK$70.65 while rival JD.com slid 4.7 per cent to HK$85.25. EV maker BYD lost 2.6 per cent to HK$187.50 and Li Auto tumbled 4.4 per cent to HK$153.

China’s top legislature, the National People’s Congress (NPC), opens its annual meeting on Tuesday. Premier Li Qiang set a GDP target of around 5 per cent and a consumer price increase target of around 3 per cent. The government will also issue 3.9 trillion yuan of special-purpose bonds for local governments in 2024, 100 billion yuan more than last year.

“The growth target range shows Beijing acknowledges economic headwinds exist and wants to reserve flexibility in policymaking,” said Gary Ng, a senior economist for Asia-Pacific thematic research at Natixis. “The market is looking for clear signals from the government to show growth is one of the priorities, but the confirmation is somewhat muted and weaker than expected. Such confusion continues to be an obstacle to the improvement of sentiment.”

Other key Asian markets also traded lower. Japan’s Nikkei 225 weakened 0.6 per cent and South Korea’s Kospi Index lost 0.3 per cent, while Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was little changed.

Source link

Tags:
, , ,