HONG KONG: Hong Kong fell to the lowest level since September after the release of inflation data and China’s central bank cut the yuan’s reference rate to the weakest level in four years.
The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index slid for a fifth day, losing 0.9 percent to 9,575.95 at 10:13 a.m. local time, dragged down by industrial companies. China’s consumer inflation rose more than estimated while factory-gate deflation extended declines to 45 months. The yuan slipped to the lowest level against the dollar since August 2011. The Shanghai Composite Index added 0.1 percent after swinging between gains and losses.
“The Hong Kong market is more influenced by outside investors,” who have a more cautious outlook for 2016, said Yen Chiu, a trader at Shenwan Hongyuan Group Co. in Hong Kong. “There are ups and downs in the broader market amid thinning volume as most investors prepare to close their books for the year end. Sentiment isn’t bright.”
The consumer-price index rose 1.5 percent in November from a year earlier, the National Bureau of Statistics said Wednesday, compared with the 1.4 percent median estimate in a Bloomberg survey and 1.3 percent in October. The producer-price index fell 5.9 percent, versus a projected 6 percent drop.
The yuan weakened 0.1 percent to 6.4245 per dollar. The People’s Bank of China reduced the onshore yuan’s daily reference rate after data this week showed bigger-than-estimated declines in exports and foreign-exchange reserves.
All six companies making their debut in mainland China surged by the daily limit of 44 percent. Anji Foodstuff Co., Banbao Co., Bomin Electronic Co. began trading in Shanghai, while Beijing Sanfo Outdoor Products Co., Hubei Kailong Chemical Group Co., Zhejiang Zhongjian Technology Co. started trading in Shenzhen.
