Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index closed flat on Friday but posted a weekly loss, weighed down by a sharp technology selloff triggered by Alibaba's sudden share placement, China Global Television Network (CGTN) market analyst Timothy Pope said in his weekly market recap.
The Hang Seng Index gained 0.07 percent on Friday to close at 25,584.79 points.
The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index closed flat at 8,490.39 points, and the Hang Seng Tech Index declined 0.33 percent to 4,605.15 points.
"Hong Kong had a fairly difficult week. The Hang Seng ended today pretty much flat, but that still leaves it down roughly one percent for the week as a whole. The biggest damage was done on Monday when Alibaba made that surprise 10.2-billion-dollar share placement, and that sent the stock sharply lower and dragged heavily on the broader technology sector. As you said, the Nvidia stocks did sort of promote a bit of a recovery midweek, but it really wasn't enough to undo Monday's losses, I suppose. We're waiting for earnings from BYD and several of China's biggest banks, including ICBC, China Construction Bank, Agricultural Bank of China, and Bank of China- all the big ones. For the banks, the big question is whether net interest margins are finally stabilizing after being squeezed by the lower lending rates. And for BYD, we're going to be watching margins and pricing particularly closely given the government's push against excessive competition in the EV sector. Those numbers, though, they're going to be more important for Monday's opening rather than today's close," Pope said.
Hang Seng posts weekly loss amid Alibaba share placement shock: analyst
U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh said Friday that the Fed's predominant focus right now should be on prices, as inflation remains above its 2-percent target.
Speaking at the annual Jackson Hole Economic Policy Symposium, Warsh said, "On the price stability side of our mandate, the numbers are more concerning."
Warsh's remarks came as broad inflation measures have fallen from their 2022 peaks, though Warsh characterized the progress over the past two years as modest. He pointed specifically to the Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) price index, noting that "the numbers are more concerning."
While summer inflation readings were better than expected, Warsh stressed that they do not indicate a meaningful improvement in underlying trends.
The Federal Reserve's preferred inflation gauge came in slightly above expectations, with the annual inflation rate holding steady at 3.7 percent, data released by the Commerce Department showed on Wednesday.
The PCE price index increased by a seasonally adjusted 0.2 percent for the month, slightly exceeding expectations, while core PCE inflation, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, matched forecasts with a 0.2 percent monthly increase and a 3.3 percent year-over-year rise.
In contrast to the lingering inflation challenges, Warsh painted a robust picture of the broader U.S. economy.
Looking ahead, Warsh emphasized that the central bank will remain "keenly focused on market internals" and performance across various sectors. He pledged to continue tracking changes in the growth rates of corporate earnings and capital spending, as well as their follow-on effects on asset prices, business confidence, consumer income, and spending.
Following the speech, major U.S. stock market indexes remained little changed, while Treasury yields moved substantially higher as bond investors digested the hawkish undertones regarding inflation and economic strength.
Warsh says Fed should focus on prices as U.S. inflation remains above target
