Hong Kong Stocks Slip As Goldman Cuts China GDP Forecasts Again While Online Spending Looks Gloomy

• Goldman cuts China GDP forecasts for 2023 and 2024, saying policy response to slowdown will be restrained

• Alibaba Group, JD.com lead losers amid speculation about weaker-than-expected June 18 annual online shopping gala

Hong Kong stocks retreated from a six-week high on speculation China will offer limited stimulus to shore up the economy in its pursuit of “high quality” growth. Alibaba Group Holding and JD.com tumbled on concerns about weaker than expected online spending.

The Hang Seng Index lost 0.93 per cent to 19,854.03 as of 11.00am local time, after gaining 7 per cent over the past three weeks. The Tech Index dropped 1.8 per cent.

Alibaba Group lost 2.7 per cent to HK$89.10 while JD.com tumbled 2.2 per cent to HK$153.90, while Tencent dropped 2.59 per cent to HK$353.

“Investors have become impatient and demand more than just rate cuts,” said Redmond Wong, strategist at Saxo Capital Markets Hong Kong. China’s central bank could cut loan prime rates this week, and deploy other tools such as liquidity injection and bond financing quotas, he added.

“We think the persistent growth headwinds are likely to win the upper hand in the tug of war between weakening growth momentum and increased policy easing,” Goldman Sachs said in a report on Sunday, after cutting its 2023 growth forecast to 5.4 per cent from 6 per cent. Policy easing “will not be as large and forceful” as in the past cycles, it added.

Two stocks started trading today. Xi’an High Voltage Apparatus jumped 53 per cent to 21.74 yuan in Shanghai, while Keystone Electrical Zhejiang Co surged 151 per cent to 45.63 yuan in Shenzhen.

Meanwhile, tensions between US and China may thaw after Secretary of State Antony Blinken held a “constructive” and candid talk with Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang over the weekend. The officials will meet in Beijing on Monday to discuss issues including Taiwan, Ukraine and tech war.

Other major Asian markets were mixed. Japan’s Nikkei 225 lost 0.4 per cent and South Korea’s Kospi dropped 0.8 per cent. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 added 0.4 per cent.