15.12.202508:18:34UTC+00Hang Seng Falls 1.3% at Close

On Monday, the Hang Seng Index declined by 348 points, equivalent to a 1.3% drop, closing at 25,629. This decline reversed gains made in the previous session, driven by widespread downturns across various sectors. Investor sentiment was negatively impacted by weak Chinese economic activity data for November, which revealed a 15-month low in industrial output growth and the weakest retail sales increase in nearly three years. Technology stocks fell by 2.5%, while consumer stocks decreased by 2.1%. The property sector declined 1.6% following the rejection of China Vanke’s proposal to delay debt repayments by one year, which re-ignited default concerns at the state-backed developer and echoed wider issues within the real estate sector. Nonetheless, the overall losses were mitigated by a significant uptick in U.S. equity futures, anticipating key economic data releases and a series of central bank policy meetings. Shares of China Vanke saw a decline of nearly 3%, with other prominent underperformers including Kuaishou Tech (down 4.6%), SMIC (down 4.2%), and Xiaomi Corp. (down 2.5%). On the other hand, CMOC Group experienced a near 2% rise after disclosing plans to acquire four gold mines in Brazil.