On December 16th during Asian trading hours, the Hong Kong stock market experienced a sharp rise followed by a pullback. The Hang Seng Index ultimately fell by 1.9% to 25,139 points, hitting a three-month low since September 4th. Out of 89 constituent stocks, only 5 rose, and the wide range of declines caught investors off guard. Among them, the Hang Seng Tech Index declined even more sharply, dropping 2.4%, with heavyweight stocks such as Tencent (HK$594.5, down 1.4%), Alibaba (HK$143.3, down 3.6%), Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (HK$62.35, down 3.6%), Zijin Mining (HK$32.88, down 4.6%), and China Hongqiao (HK$30.08, down 5.8%) all falling. The South Korean KOSPI and Taiwan Weighted Index were also affected, with declines within 1%, and securities stocks suffering heavy losses.
Weak economic data shatters market expectations
The fundamental reason for this adjustment points to China's economic slowdown. The economic data released in November caused