Hong Kong shares fell 137 points or 0.5% to 25,295 in early trade on Wednesday, extending losses for a third session and hitting a two-week low amid broad-based declines. Weak cues from Wall Street weighed on sentiment after the S&P 500 and Dow Jones pulled back overnight, as traders expect a 25bps Fed rate cut later today but anticipate a hawkish guidance, with little chance of another reduction in January. Pressure also came from mainland markets after fresh data showed a deeper drop in China’s producer prices in November, highlighting limited progress in curbing aggressive price competition. At the same time, consumer prices fell 0.1% month-over-month, the first drop in five months, despite the annual rate surging to 0.7%. Still, losses were partly limited after China’s Politburo signaled plans for more proactive fiscal support and appropriately loose monetary policy. Major early decliners included Akeso (-2.7%), Tencent Music (-2.1%), Nongfu Spring (-1.8%), and SMIC (-1.7%).
