Hong Kong stocks plunged 332 points (-1.3%) to 25,192 in Friday morning trading, extending their decline into a second session. Selling pressure spread across most sectors, particularly financials, technology, and consumer discretionary, as regional risk appetite weakened.

Sentiment was weighed down after Chinese data for July showed industrial output and retail sales below expectations, confirming slowing economic momentum amid persistent external risks, weather disruptions, and weak domestic demand. The surveyed unemployment rate also rose to 5.2%, a four-month high.

Nevertheless, the Hang Seng is still on track for its second consecutive weekly gain, with an increase of more than 1% so far. The boost came primarily from the extension of the 90-day US-China trade truce this week, which eased tariff concerns and boosted market sentiment.

On Wall Street, major indexes hit new records again as expectations for a Fed rate cut in September increased. The positive global sentiment wasn't enough to offset domestic concerns in China, which weighed on Hong Kong stocks today.

On the policy front, Beijing plans to subsidize consumer loan interest rates to encourage household spending and launch a national equipment upgrade initiative to support the cycle. In terms of issuer performance, those lagging behind include Meituan (-3.5%), AIA Group (-3.3%), Sunny Optical (-3.1%), and Geely Auto (-2.7%). (alg)

Source: Newsmaker.id