Alibaba, JD.com put Hong Kong stocks on slippery slope before US inflation report while traders look for China market signals

Markets wary as US consumer prices appear to be sticky, with economists forecasting an 8.1 per cent rise in September versus 8.3 per cent in August

The Hang Seng Index completed a sixth day of losses, the longest stretch of pain since September

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A cyclist stands in front of an electronic board showing Shanghai stock index and other market data on September 22. Photo: Reuters

Published: 10:29am, 13 Oct 2022Updated: 4:35pm, 13 Oct 2022

Corrected [11:32am, 13 Oct, 2022]

[11:32am, 13 Oct, 2022]
Corrects reference to longest losing streak in first and second paragraph

Hong Kong stocks fell for a sixth day, dragging the benchmark index to its longest losing streak in five weeks, as caution prevailed before a US government report on inflation. Traders kpet positions light, looking out for market signals before the Communist Party congress this weekend.

The Hang Seng Index dropped 1.9 per cent to 16,389.11 at the close, capping the longest drubbing since September. The six-day loss totalled 9.4 per cent. The Tech Index slumped 3.4 per cent, while the Shanghai Composite Index erased an earlier advance to lose 0.3 per cent.

Alibaba Group weakened 2.2 per cent to HK$72.75, while Tencent Holdings retreated 2.9 per cent to HK$246.20 and JD.com lost 4.7 per cent to HK$176.60. China Merchants Bank tumbled 4 per cent to HK$30.10, and Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing also slid by that much to HK$258.40.

Kuaishou Technology fell 4.5 per cent to HK$47.60, while NetEase slumped 4 per cent to HK$109.80. Chinese developers Longfor and Country Garden pulled property stocks down, each losing more than 6 per cent.

Global markets are on edge with traders wary of an extended run of interest-rate increases by the Federal Reserve. US consumer prices probably rose 8.1 per cent in September from a year earlier, versus 8.3 per cent in August, according to a consensus among economists tracked by Bloomberg before an official report on Thursday.