Hang Seng Index falls below 26,000 points on Thursday amid Fed’s hawkish stance on interest rate cut

Hong Kong stocks opened lower on Thursday, pressured by the US Federal Reserve's decision to hold interest rates steady with only one cut projected for the year and hawkish comments on slower inflation progress.

The benchmark Hang Seng Index plunged 474 points, or 1.82 percent, to 25,550 points.

The Hang Seng Tech Index also dropped 107 points to 5,000 points.

Among the 90 blue-chip stocks, 76 opened lower this morning.

Tencent (0700) fell 4 percent as its announcement on reducing share buybacks this year to allocate more funds toward expanding artificial intelligence investments on Wednesday disappointed some investors who focused on shareholder returns, making it the second-worst performing blue chip.

AIA (1299) fell more than 3 percent, while Xiaomi (1810) rose over 2 percent after announcing the launch of Mimo-V2-Pro alongside plans to release the next-generation SU7 electric vehicle. Meanwhile, CNOOC (0883) climbed more than 2 percent, tracking higher oil prices amid broader energy sector strength.