<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt; color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; line-height: 15.6933px; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">Hong Kong stocks lost ground for the fourth consecutive day, this is now the longest decline in two months, as investors digested the absence of a more meaningful and forceful stimulus from China along with the fallout of Donald Trump’s re-election, according to a detailed report by the South China Morning Post.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt; color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; line-height: 15.6933px; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">The Hang Seng Index lost 0.1 per cent of its value and touched 19,823.45 on closing, completing a 5.4 per cent loss in the four-day run. Whereas the Hang Seng Tech Index dropped by about 0.1 per cent.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt; color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; line-height: 15.6933px; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">China indices bucked the trend

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt; color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; line-height: 15.6933px; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">China benchmarks bucked the trend by going against this direction. The CSI 300 Index rose 0.6 per cent, and the Shanghai Composite Index also added 0.5 per cent.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt; color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; line-height: 15.6933px; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">Biopharmaceutical firm Wuxi AppTec and affiliate Wuxi Biology led the pack of decliners. Investors will also shift focus on a slew of earnings by major companies such as Tencent Holdings and Meituan this week, detailed the South China Morning Post report further.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt; color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; line-height: 15.6933px; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">Hang Seng Index fell below 20,000 for the first time since September 26

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt; color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; line-height: 15.6933px; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">The Hang Seng Index closed below the 20,000-point mark for the first time since September 26 on Tuesday as investors moved to a defensive mode after the disappointing outcome of China’s legislative meeting last week.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt; color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; line-height: 15.6933px; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">The legislature’s standing committee only approved bond issuances to address local-debt issues, bringing down expectations of more measures to boost consumption and the employment rate.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt; color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; line-height: 15.6933px; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">“The current weakness seen in the Hong Kong stock market has been attributed to the lack of details of the promised fiscal stimulus measures from China to negate the ongoing deflationary spiral,” said Kelvin Wong, an analyst at Oanda.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt; color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; line-height: 15.6933px; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">He further stated that financial market participants have started losing confidence in the timing and willingness of China’s top policymakers to enact hard hitting measures to jump start consumer spending.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt; color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; line-height: 15.6933px; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">Threat of Trump trade and tariffs looms

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt; color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; line-height: 15.6933px; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">The threat of Trump trade also put investors in Asia on the defensive. The US president-elect favours higher tariffs, trade protectionism and tax cuts, policies that will heighten geopolitical tensions, stoke inflation and hamper interest-rate cuts.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt; color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; line-height: 15.6933px; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">The trading pattern has already been reflected in some asset classes, with the yield in US Treasuries rising and gold prices falling from a record. Further, Bitcoin has also risen rapidly since the US election results.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt; color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; line-height: 15.6933px; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">UBS Global Wealth Management, a segment of the biggest bank in Switzerland,&nbsp;reduced its forecast for Chinese stocks due to the possibility of additional US tariffs and disappointing stimulus.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt; color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; line-height: 15.6933px; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">In this environment of geo-political tensions, global investors will now focus on the economic steps taken by the upcoming Trump administration. These developments will help investors in making more informed investment choices in future.&nbsp;

Hong Kong stocks lost ground for the fourth consecutive day, this is now the longest decline in two months, as investors digested the absence of a more meaningful and forceful stimulus from China along with the fallout of Donald Trump’s re-election, according to a detailed report by the South China Morning Post.

Hong Kong stocks lost ground for the fourth consecutive day, this is now the longest decline in two months, as investors digested the absence of a more meaningful and forceful stimulus from China along with the fallout of Donald Trump’s re-election, according to a detailed report by the South China Morning Post. The Hang Seng Index lost 0.1 per cent of its value and touched 19,823.45 on closing, completing a 5.4 per cent loss in the four-day run. Whereas the Hang Seng Tech Index dropped by about 0.1 per cent. China indices bucked the trend China benchmarks bucked the trend by going against this direction. The CSI 300 Index rose 0.6 per cent, and the Shanghai Composite Index also added 0.5 per cent. Biopharmaceutical firm Wuxi AppTec and affiliate Wuxi Biology led the pack of decliners. Investors will also shift focus on a slew of earnings by major companies such as Tencent Holdings and Meituan this week, detailed the South China Morning Post report further. Hang Seng Index fell below 20,000 for the first time since September 26 The Hang Seng Index closed below the 20,000-point mark for the first time since September 26 on Tuesday as investors moved to a defensive mode after the disappointing outcome of China’s legislative meeting last week. The legislature’s standing committee only approved bond issuances to address local-debt issues, bringing down expectations of more measures to boost consumption and the employment rate. “The current weakness seen in the Hong Kong stock market has been attributed to the lack of details of the promised fiscal stimulus measures from China to negate the ongoing deflationary spiral,” said Kelvin Wong, an analyst at Oanda. He further stated that financial market participants have started losing confidence in the timing and willingness of China’s top policymakers to enact hard hitting measures to jump start consumer spending. Threat of Trump trade and tariffs looms The threat of Trump trade also put investors in Asia on the defensive. The US president-elect favours higher tariffs, trade protectionism and tax cuts, policies that will heighten geopolitical tensions, stoke inflation and hamper interest-rate cuts. The trading pattern has already been reflected in some asset classes, with the yield in US Treasuries rising and gold prices falling from a record. Further, Bitcoin has also risen rapidly since the US election results. UBS Global Wealth Management, a segment of the biggest bank in Switzerland, reduced its forecast for Chinese stocks due to the possibility of additional US tariffs and disappointing stimulus. In this environment of geo-political tensions, global investors will now focus on the economic steps taken by the upcoming Trump administration. These developments will help investors in making more informed investment choices in future.

Hong Kong stocks cap longest losing streak in 2 months on China's poor stimulus

Hong Kong's Chief Executive, John Lee, announced on Monday that the government is exploring additional measures to strengthen the city's securities market. <o:p></o:p>

This comes after the markets were hit by geopolitical tensions and China’s slowing economy.<o:p></o:p>

Speaking at the HSBC Global Investment Summit in Hong Kong, Lee highlighted existing initiatives aimed towards enhancing competitiveness, including improvements in the listing regime for specialised technology firms. <o:p></o:p>

While specifics of the proposed measures were not disclosed, Lee said that the government is committed to stimulating the market through enhanced transaction mechanisms and investment services.<o:p></o:p>

The backdrop for these considerations includes the challenging economic landscape in Hong Kong, characterised by China's economic slowdown and capital flight. <o:p></o:p>

With the economy expanding by 3.2 per cent in 2023 and the stock market witnessing a downturn, Hong Kong faces increased pressure to revitalise investor confidence and attract capital inflows. <o:p></o:p>

The Hang Seng Index, Hong Kong's benchmark index, fell sharply by about 14 per cent in 2023, marking its fourth consecutive year of decline. <o:p></o:p>

Additionally, the city experienced a 28.5 per cent drop in the value of initial public offerings (IPOs) in the first quarter of this year compared to the previous year.<o:p></o:p>

Acknowledging the challenges, Lee noted that the recent initiatives aimed at incentivising capital inflows, businesses, and visitors to the city would be vital.<o:p></o:p>

These measures, announced in February, seek to address high-interest rates, geopolitical complexities, and increasing budget deficits. <o:p></o:p>

Despite short-term market volatility, Lee expressed confidence in Hong Kong's resilience and highlighted the diverse opportunities available. <o:p></o:p>

He noted that the government was focused towards ensuring sustainable growth in the stock market and enhancing overall market competitiveness. <o:p></o:p>

(With inputs from Reuters)<o:p></o:p>

Hong Kong's Chief Executive, John Lee, announced on Monday that the government is exploring additional measures to strengthen the city's securities market. This comes after the markets were hit by geopolitical tensions and China’s slowing economy.

Hong Kong's Chief Executive, John Lee, announced on Monday that the government is exploring additional measures to strengthen the city's securities market. This comes after the markets were hit by geopolitical tensions and China’s slowing economy. Speaking at the HSBC Global Investment Summit in Hong Kong, Lee highlighted existing initiatives aimed towards enhancing competitiveness, including improvements in the listing regime for specialised technology firms. While specifics of the proposed measures were not disclosed, Lee said that the government is committed to stimulating the market through enhanced transaction mechanisms and investment services. The backdrop for these considerations includes the challenging economic landscape in Hong Kong, characterised by China's economic slowdown and capital flight. With the economy expanding by 3.2 per cent in 2023 and the stock market witnessing a downturn, Hong Kong faces increased pressure to revitalise investor confidence and attract capital inflows. The Hang Seng Index, Hong Kong's benchmark index, fell sharply by about 14 per cent in 2023, marking its fourth consecutive year of decline. Additionally, the city experienced a 28.5 per cent drop in the value of initial public offerings (IPOs) in the first quarter of this year compared to the previous year. Acknowledging the challenges, Lee noted that the recent initiatives aimed at incentivising capital inflows, businesses, and visitors to the city would be vital. These measures, announced in February, seek to address high-interest rates, geopolitical complexities, and increasing budget deficits. Despite short-term market volatility, Lee expressed confidence in Hong Kong's resilience and highlighted the diverse opportunities available. He noted that the government was focused towards ensuring sustainable growth in the stock market and enhancing overall market competitiveness. (With inputs from Reuters)

Hong Kong considers further steps to revitalise stock market while economic challenges persist

Hong Kong is shedding its sceptical stance on cryptocurrencies and plans to legalise retail trading in contrast to the ban in mainland China. It has planned a mandatory licencing programme for crypto platforms that would be enforced from March next year to allow retail trading, Bloomberg reported citing sources. 
 
Regulators will allow listings of bigger tokens but won’t endorse specific coins like Bitcoin or Ether, and further details and timetable will be announced after as due public consultation, the sources told Bloomberg. 
 
The government is likely to share details of its plan of creating a top crypto hub at a fintech conference starting on Monday. The push is part of a drive to restore Hong Kong’s credentials as a finance centre after years of political turmoil and Covid curbs sparked a talent exodus. 
 
ALSO READ |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/india-news/twitteratis-surprised-as-bengaluru-tea-seller-accepts-payment-in-crypto-520910">Twitterati surprised as Bengaluru tea seller accepts payment in crypto</a> 
 
“Introducing mandatory licensing in Hong Kong is just one of the important things regulators have to do,” said Gary Tiu, executive director at crypto firm BC Technology Group Ltd. “They can’t forever effectively close the needs of retail investors.” 
 
A spokesperson for Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission declined to comment on the details of the plan.&nbsp;Shares of some crypto-related firms listed in Hong Kong rose on Friday after the development.&nbsp; 
 
Regulators across globe are struggling how to manage the highly volatile digital-asset sector, which is picking up the pieces of a $2 trillion rout since a peak in November 2021. The crash toppled a range of crypto outfits while exposing unbridled leverage and deficient risk management, added the Bloomberg report. 
 
ALSO READ |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/couple-entangled-in-legal-trouble-after-receiveing-erroneous-refund-of-105-from-a-crypto-company-524600">Couple in legal trouble after receiving erroneous refund of $10.5 mn from a crypto company</a> 
 
Singapore, Hong Kong’s traditional rival for financial business, was buffeted by the implosion and has tightened up its digital-asset rules to curb retail trading. Singapore earlier this week proposed banning leveraged retail token purchases. China declared the crypto sector largely illegal a year ago. 
 
Hong Kong has actually been trying to frame an all-encompassing crypto regime going beyond retail token trading, said Michel Lee, executive president of digital-asset specialist HashKey Group.&nbsp; 
 
He cited tokenized versions of stocks and bonds as a potentially more important segment in future. “Just trading digital assets on its own is not the goal,” Lee said. “The goal is really to grow the ecosystem.”

You can now write for wionews.com and be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with us <a href="https://www.wionews.com/content-contribution-registration-form">here</a>.

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Hong Kong is shedding its sceptical stance on cryptocurrencies and plans to legalise retail trading in contrast to the ban in mainland China. It has planned a mandatory licencing programme for crypto platforms that would be enforced from March next year to allow retail trading, Bloomberg reported citing sources.

Hong Kong is shedding its sceptical stance on cryptocurrencies and plans to legalise retail trading in contrast to the ban in mainland China. It has planned a mandatory licencing programme for crypto platforms that would be enforced from March next year to allow retail trading, Bloomberg reported citing sources. Regulators will allow listings of bigger tokens but won’t endorse specific coins like Bitcoin or Ether, and further details and timetable will be announced after as due public consultation, the sources told Bloomberg. The government is likely to share details of its plan of creating a top crypto hub at a fintech conference starting on Monday. The push is part of a drive to restore Hong Kong’s credentials as a finance centre after years of political turmoil and Covid curbs sparked a talent exodus. ALSO READ | Twitterati surprised as Bengaluru tea seller accepts payment in crypto “Introducing mandatory licensing in Hong Kong is just one of the important things regulators have to do,” said Gary Tiu, executive director at crypto firm BC Technology Group Ltd. “They can’t forever effectively close the needs of retail investors.” A spokesperson for Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission declined to comment on the details of the plan. Shares of some crypto-related firms listed in Hong Kong rose on Friday after the development. Regulators across globe are struggling how to manage the highly volatile digital-asset sector, which is picking up the pieces of a $2 trillion rout since a peak in November 2021. The crash toppled a range of crypto outfits while exposing unbridled leverage and deficient risk management, added the Bloomberg report. ALSO READ | Couple in legal trouble after receiving erroneous refund of $10.5 mn from a crypto company Singapore, Hong Kong’s traditional rival for financial business, was buffeted by the implosion and has tightened up its digital-asset rules to curb retail trading. Singapore earlier this week proposed banning leveraged retail token purchases. China declared the crypto sector largely illegal a year ago. Hong Kong has actually been trying to frame an all-encompassing crypto regime going beyond retail token trading, said Michel Lee, executive president of digital-asset specialist HashKey Group. He cited tokenized versions of stocks and bonds as a potentially more important segment in future. “Just trading digital assets on its own is not the goal,” Lee said. “The goal is really to grow the ecosystem.” You can now write for wionews.com and be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with us here. WATCH WION LIVE HERE

Hong Kong to legalise retail crypto trading, plans to become top digital assets' centre

In Hong Kong, its been several months of continuous unrest. People are protesting on the streets. Presently, protest is taking place against Chinese traders. Protesters asked the Chinese traders to back to China from Hong Kong markets. #HongKongProtests #HongKong

Hong Kong: Several months of continuous unrest, protest against Chinese traders

In Hong Kong, its been several months of continuous unrest. People are protesting on the streets. Presently, protest is taking place against Chinese traders. Protesters asked the Chinese traders to back to China from Hong Kong markets. #WION #HongKongProtests #HongKong

2019 Hong Kong protests to continue in 2020?