my NEWS Hong Kong stocks rebound after China data raises hopes of policy support Data released on Monday showed retail sales growth slowed in year-on-year terms in January-February but industrial production beat expectations Investors have pared back their expectations for a US interest rate cut in the May ahead of the Federal Reserve decision later this week The Hang Seng Index added 0.1 per cent to 16,744.38 as of 11.10am local time, after losing as much as 0.5 per cent. The Tech Index added 0.8 per cent while the Shanghai Composite Index added 0.4 per cent. E-commerce giant JD.com jumped 3.2 per cent to HK$107.90, Tencent jumped 1.8 per cent to HK$288.80 and food delivery company Meituan gained 0.8 per cent to HK$90.15. EV maker BYD advanced 3.6 per cent to HK$217.80 and peer Xpeng jumped 5.2 per cent to HK$39.75, after their plans to address the mass market. A batch of economic data released on Monday painted a mix picture about the recovery in the world’s second largest economy. Retail sales growth slowed in year-on-year terms in January-February but industrial production jumped 7 per cent compared with the same period last year beating expectations, according to National Bureau of Statistics. “To secure the ambitious ‘around 5%’ growth target this year, more policy easing is still necessary, especially on the demand-side (for example fiscal, housing and consumption),” said Goldman Sachs analysts in a report after the data release. Property investment continued to struggle and fell by 9 per cent in January and February despite an acceleration in property policy easing, triggering weakness in shares of real estate companies. Investors have pared back their expectations for a US interest rate cut in the May ahead of the Federal Reserve decision. Data from CME Group shows markets are now pricing in a 94 per cent chance of steady rates, compared with 70 per cent a month ago. Asian stocks were broadly higher. Japan’s Nikkei 225 jumped 2.1 per cent on bets that the central bank will end its negative interest rate policy soon. South Korea’s Kospi added 0.6 per cent but Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 lost 0.1 per cent.
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