SINGAPORE — Asia-Pacific shares fell on Wednesday as investors digest inflation data from China and look ahead to the U.S. CPI report.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index fell 1.96% to close at 19,610.84, with the Hang Seng Tech index down 2.83%. Heavyweights Meituan and JD.com fell 3.64% and 4.46% respectively.
Heath care, consumer and real estate stocks also dragged the Hang Seng lower, according to Eikon data.
Property developer Longfor plunged 16.4% after the company reported that contracted sales for the first seven months of the year dove nearly 58% compared with the same period a year ago.
Mainland China markets slipped, with the Shanghai Composite 0.54% lower at 3,230.02, and the Shenzhen Component down 0.87% at 12,223.51.
China’s producer price index for July rose 4.2% from a year ago, lower than the 4.8% increase predicted in a Reuters poll.
Consumer prices increased 2.7% in July compared with the same period in 2021, the most since July 2020. Analysts expected the print to stand at 2.9%.
“Underlying inflation pressures remain limited in China because sporadic lockdowns have weighed on consumer spending and overall economic activity,” Carol Kong, a senior associate, international economics and currency strategy at Commonwealth Bank, wrote in a Wednesday note ahead of the data release.
“China’s relatively subdued inflation impulse stands in contrast with the persistently strong U.S. inflation,” the note said.
Later Wednesday, the U.S. will be reporting inflation data as well….
