Hong Kong stocks rebound as investors weigh rate-cut odds after mixed US job data
Hang Seng Index swings as odds of a US Federal Reserve rate cut in January now stand at nearly 26 per cent
The Hang Seng Index rose 0.9 per cent to 25,468.78 at the close after swinging between gains and losses during most of the day’s trading. The Hang Seng Tech Index gained 1 per cent.
On the mainland, the CSI 300 Index climbed 1.8 per cent and the Shanghai Composite Index added 1.2 per cent.
China Life Insurance jumped 4.3 per cent to HK$28.56 and Chinese sportswear maker Li Ning also rallied 4.3 per cent to HK$19.07. Pop Mart International Group added 3.4 per cent to HK$195.70. On the downside, ENN Energy slid 2.4 per cent to HK$69.90 and Hong Kong machine tool maker Techtronic Industries retreated 2 per cent to HK$89.80.
While the November data showed that the US jobs market was softening, the deterioration was not alarming enough to prompt the US Federal Reserve to cut the interest rate in the near term, analysts said. The probability of a quarter-point cut next month now stood at 25.5 per cent, according to CME Group. That would test the resilience of US and global stocks, which traded near record highs amid stretched valuations.
“The US jobs market is cooling and on track for a soft landing,” said Zhang Di, an analyst at China Galaxy Securities in Beijing. “But we think that there’s limited urgency for the Fed to deliver a rate reduction in January and that the Fed may wait for one or two months to re-evaluate the window for the rate cut after access to data that is less distorted.”