HONG KONG: Hong Kong stocks pulled back on Thursday morning, joining volatile regional markets after losses on Wall Street, as investors took profit following the sharp rally of the past two days.
But there were few signs of panic selling, as Chinese Premier Li Keqiang reassured global markets on Wednesday that Beijing can keep its economy on track and stock markets in check.
Analyst said August inflation data published on Thursday, which shows persistent weakness in producer prices, had little impact on the market.
China’s blue-chip CSI300 index fell 0.9 percent to 3,370.09 points at lunch time, while the Shanghai Composite Index lost 1.0 percent to 3,211.93 points. On Tuesday and Wednesday combined, both indexes gained about 5 percent.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index, which on Wednesday jumped 4.1 percent in its best one-day performance in nearly four years, lost 2.1 percent on Thursday morning, to 21,665.92 points.
The Hang Seng China Enterprises index, which tracks Chinese companies listed in Hong Kong, also fell 2.1 percent.
“Relatively calm morning session dominated by some profit taking after the recent rally in the market,” Gerry Alfonso, director of Shenwan Hongyuan Securities Co., wrote about mainland exchanges.
“The economic figures were mixed and had a relatively small impact on the market.”
