Hong Kong stocks cap longest rising streak in 3 weeks on cooling US inflation data
Soft US inflation data strengthens the case for monetary easing as the Hang Seng Index gains for a third day
The Hang Seng Index advanced 0.8 per cent to 25,690.53 at the close, paring the weekly loss to 1.1 per cent. The Hang Seng Tech Index gained 1.1 per cent. On the mainland, the CSI 300 Index climbed 0.3 per cent and the Shanghai Composite Index added 0.4 per cent.
Cooling US inflation is expected to ease jitters about a potential global bubble in artificial intelligence, which has been fuelled by massive spending in data centres and lofty valuations of tech titans from Nvidia to Microsoft. Global stocks have been oscillating wildly this week as investors navigate through a complicated macro environment after a strong labour market report earlier in the week tamped down bets on immediate monetary easing and spurred sell-offs in equities.
“Lower-than-expected inflation has left more room for the US Federal Reserve to cut interest rates,” said Yan Xiang, an analyst at Founder Securities. “The next window for a reduction may start in March. The easing narrative is positive for stocks and we might see some rotation from technology stocks with high valuations and concentrations.”