Hong Kong and Chinese stocks fall slightly, as traders brace for US Fed meeting
- Hang Seng Index drops less than 0.1 per cent and Shanghai Composite falls 0.4 per cent
- All five debutants on mainland exchanges surge on Wednesday
Hong Kong and Chinese stocks traded sideways on Wednesday, as traders awaited a meeting by the US Federal Reserve to assess the prospects for monetary policy and economic growth.
Caution prevailed in the two markets ahead of the Federal Open Market Committee meeting due on Wednesday US time. The Fed is expected to maintain its dovish stance after earlier saying that it will shift to a more relaxed approach on inflation. Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump said a vaccine for Covid-19 could be ready within four weeks.
“We expect the Fed to reiterate its lower-for-longer call on rates, and to do whatever it takes on the liquidity front to support growth and unemployment,” said Jeffrey Halley, an analyst at Oanda in Singapore. “We may get some insight into the nuances of their new fuzzy inflation targeting process.”
China Mengniu Dairy and Bank of China were the biggest decliners on the Hang Seng Index on Wednesday, falling by at least 1.6 per cent.