Hang Seng drops 0.8% on growth downgrade and China probe

The Hang Seng dropped 156 points, or 0.8%, to close at 20,155 on Wednesday, reversing earlier gains after the Asian Development Bank downgraded its GDP growth forecasts for Hong Kong.

Hang Seng drops 0.8% on growth downgrade and China probe

The bank cited weaker private consumption, fixed investment, and exports, lowering the 2024 growth projection to 2.5% from 2.8% and cutting the 2025 forecast to 2.3% from 3.0%. Cautious traders also awaited the outcome of a key policy meeting in China following the Politburo's general pledge to support the economy, which lacked specific details. On Wall Street, US-listed shares of Chinese companies fell over 4% after China investigated potential antimonopoly violations by chipmaker Nvidia.

Declines led by Tongcheng, Techtronic, and Meituan

All sectors ended lower, with notable declines in major stocks like Tongcheng Travel (-4.2%), Techtronic Industries (-3.6%), Meituan (-2.6%), Sun Hung Kai Properties (-2.5%), and Henderson Land Development (-2.4%).