Stock Drop In HK, Citic Surges Ahead

[DailyFx]

Stocks in Hong Kong dropped, bringing the weekly performance into negative territory for the first time in a more than a month. Leading decliners on the day were shares of China Mobile Ltd. The telecom stock was ill effected by speculation hovering over the possibility that the People’s Bank of China will begin to implement stricter monetary policies in light of rising inflationary pressures during the Golden Week holiday. Shares of China Mobile, the world’s largest mobile phone operator by users, fell 1 percent to close at HK$72.20. Equity shares were also under pressure after it was rumored that China’s state pension fund was paring back on equity positions in light of the sustained run up in stocks. As a result, the Hang Seng Index slipped 140.79 points to 20,526.50 at the close in the overnight session. The outflows in stocks helped to pressure the Hong Kong dollar lower, as the currency pair remained relatively near the close yesterday in New York. Currently, the USDHKD is trading at 7.8218.