Alibaba, Nio Fall Over 2%: Hang Seng Weakens After Fed Sees Rate Hikes Through Next Year

Hong Kong stocks witnessed a sell-off on Thursday despite the Federal Reserve’s 50 basis points rate hike being on anticipated lines as central bank officials projected rate increases through next year with no cuts until 2024. The benchmark Hang Seng traded over 2% lower. Alibaba, Nio, Xpeng and Li Auto shares traded over 3% lower. 

“We maintain our 5.0% forecast for terminal, anticipating the Fed will raise rates by 25bp at each of the next two FOMC meetings. Soft patches in core inflation are not unusual. The Fed’s work is not yet complete,” ANZ Research said in a note.

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Macro News: COVID-19 infections were spiking in China way before the government's decision to abandon its "zero-COVID" policy, a World Health Organization director said on Wednesday, according to a Reuters report.

China’s main goal in its new 12-year growth plan is to stimulate consumption and investment in the years to 2035, reported Bloomberg citing CCTV.

Company News: Xpeng plans to launch three new models in 2023 that include a facelift of its hot-selling sedan P7, reported CnEVPost citing local media Jiemian.

North Dakota and Iowa have joined an expanding number of U.S. states in banning TikTok from state-owned devices, citing national security concerns, reported Reuters.

Top Gainers and Losers: Longfor Group Holdings Limited and Techtronic Industries Company Limited were the top losers on Hang Seng, shedding over 3% and 2%, respectively. Li Ning Company Limited and ANTA Sports Products Limited were the top gainers, having risen over 1.5% each.

Global News: U.S. futures traded in the green on Thursday morning Asia session. The Dow Jones futures gained 0.15% while the Nasdaq futures rose 0.07%. The S&P 500 futures were trading higher by 0.14%.

Elsewhere in Asia Pacific, Australia’s ASX 200 was trading lower by 0.45%. Japan’s Nikkei 225 traded 0.29% lower while China’s Shanghai Composite index lost 0.5%. South Korea’s Kospi shed 0.86%.

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