Hong Kong stocks drop after PBOC governor dashes hopes of China stimulus moves
A briefing on Monday showed that policymakers are in no rush to act unless underlying growth momentum deteriorates, Goldman Sachs says
Hong Kong stocks fell on Tuesday after the head of China’s central bank struck a measured tone at high-level briefing on Monday, quashing hopes of easing measures.
The Hang Seng Index lost 0.7 per cent to close at 26,159.12. The Hang Seng Tech Index dropped 1.5 per cent. On the mainland, the CSI 300 Index closed flat and the Shanghai Composite Index fell about 0.2 per cent.
Limiting losses, New Oriental Education & Technology, an online education firm, rose 1.9 per cent to HK$40.64, while Citic rose 1.5 per cent to HK$11.50 and NetEase added 1.4 per cent to HK$237.20.
Pan Gongsheng, governor of the People’s Bank of China, along with top officials from the banking, securities and foreign-exchange sectors, reviewed the achievements of China’s financial sector over the past five years at a briefing on Monday. Pan signalled that the central bank would assess microeconomic changes and apply adequate tools, but did not announce any immediate policy changes.
Some investors had hoped for more from the event as the line-up of officials was similar to a meeting in September when Beijing unveiled a series of measures, including interest rate cuts, to support the struggling real estate and retail sectors.
Pan’s emphasis on balancing stability with growth supported the view that policymakers were in no rush to ease but could act later if underlying growth momentum deteriorated, Goldman Sachs analysts said in a report on Monday.