Published on 07/17/2025 at 04:34
(MT Newswires) -- Hong Kong stocks continued their downward slide Thursday even as US President Donald Trump appeared to soften his tone on Beijing and denied plans to dismiss Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell after raising the idea with lawmakers.
The Hang Seng Index fell 18.81 points, or 0.08%, to 24,498.95, while the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index declined 8.29 points, or 0.09%, to 8,853.10.
US President Donald Trump is looking to snag a summit with Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping and sign a trade deal with Beijing, Bloomberg News reported, citing people familiar with internal deliberations.
Trump has toned down his rhetoric against China, cutting purchase deals, the report said.
Meanwhile, Trump said he is not planning to terminate Powell but left the option open, renewing criticism over the Fed's reluctance to cut interest rates.
"We think Trump is testing the markets to see whether he can fire Powell," wrote Anna Wong, chief US economist at Bloomberg Economics.
In corporate news, CStone Pharmaceuticals closed 13% higher after the pharmaceutical company completed the sale of 100 million shares to raise HK$467.3 million in net proceeds.
Meanwhile, Foshan Haitian Flavouring and Food fell over 2% after underwriters partially exercised the overallotment option of its Hong Kong IPO.

Sumber : MT Newswires