Hong Kong stocks fall on US trade threats and interest rate uncertainty
US President Donald Trump says he will unveil unilateral tariff rates within two weeks
The Hang Seng Index dropped 1.4 per cent to 24,035.38, wiping out Wednesday’s gains that followed a preliminary US-China trade agreement. The Hang Seng Tech Index lost 2.2 per cent. On the mainland, the CSI 300 Index fell 0.1 per cent and the Shanghai Composite Index was mostly flat.
On the upside, Sino Biopharmaceutical surged 19.3 per cent to HK$5.69 after the drug maker said a major overseas-licensing deal could be finalised in the near future. Chinese biotech giant WuXi AppTec rose 4.7 per cent to HK$78.45, while gold producer Zijin Mining rose 4.9 per cent to HK$20.
On Wednesday, US President Donald Trump said he would unveil unilateral tariff rates within two weeks. The S&P 500 index dropped 0.3 per cent and the Nasdaq 100 fell 0.5 per cent overnight. His comments came after the US struck a preliminary trade deal with China; the framework agreement awaits approval from Beijing and Washington.