Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index has fallen for the third consecutive day, with a 0.6% decline on Friday, marking a weekly loss of 3.5%, the highest in two months. This comes as global funds reduce their investments in Chinese stocks amid concerns surrounding the corporate earnings season.
The Tech Index also experienced a decline this week, falling by 0.3%, while the Shanghai Composite Index remained steady after hitting an 11-month low. Major tech firms such as Alibaba (NYSE:BABA) Group and JD (NASDAQ:JD).com saw their stocks fall by 1.2% and 0.9% respectively. Tencent, Baidu (NASDAQ:BIDU), Meituan, and Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEX) also reported losses this week.
CATL, the world's leading EV battery manufacturer, reported its slowest growth since early 2022, with Q3 earnings showing a modest increase of 10.7%. China Telecom (NYSE:CHA) and HKEX also experienced losses ahead of their respective earnings announcements.
Foreign investors sold off $3 billion in mainland-listed stocks via Stock Connect this week, resulting in a record net selling of $22 billion over the last ten weeks. According to Patrick Pan of Daiwa, the recovery in China equities is expected to be delayed due to property debt issues, geopolitical risks, rising US government bond yields, and increasing tensions in the Middle East.
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell expressed caution about raising interest rates given these developments. Other major Asian markets including South Korea's Kospi, Australia's S&P/ASX 200, and Japan's Nikkei 225 also posted losses this week.
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