Bloomberg Business: Hong Kong Stocks Fall for First Time in Six-Days as HSBC Slumps

Men of Value Contributor · February 24, 2015

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(Bloomberg) — Hong Kong stocks fell, with the Hang Seng Index headed for the first loss in six sessions as its biggest stock, HSBC Holdings Plc., dropped the most since August 2013 after reporting earnings slumped. The Hang Seng slid 0.3 percent to 24,760.69 as of 9:31 a.m. in Hong Kong, with HSBC the biggest contributor to the decline. The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index of mainland stocks traded in the city fell 0.1 percent to 12,034.81. Mainland exchanges will re-open tomorrow after being shut since Feb. 18 for Lunar New Year holidays. HSBC fell 3.5 percent to HK$69.50 after reporting pretax profit dropped 56 percent to $1.7 billion in the fourth quarter from a year earlier, missing analyst estimates of $3.7 billion. The bank is the heaviest-weighted stock on the Hang Seng, accounting for about 12 percent of the measure. Shares in London trading slumped 4.6 percent. Investors are also watching the situation in Greece after a Feb. 20 agreement with creditors. The head of the group of euro- region finance ministers expects Greece to deliver a package of economic measures that will satisfy creditors and avert another emergency round of negotiations. Under the draft agreement, the government had until midnight Greek time to complete a list of policies in return for continued funding. A draft list was sent to creditor institutions on Monday.
Investors will receive further clues on the Federal Reserve’s assessment of the U.S. economy and the timing of an interest-rate increase when Chair Janet Yellen gives two days of testimony to Congress starting Tuesday. Federal fund futures traded on the CME Group Inc. exchange are signaling October as the most likely month the Fed will raise rates, according to Bloomberg data.
Futures on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index were little changed after the underlying index fell less that 0.1 percent from a record in New York on Monday.

To contact the reporter on this story: Yuji Nakamura in Tokyo at ynakamura56@bloomberg.net To contact the editors responsible for this story: Sarah McDonald at smcdonald23@bloomberg.net John McCluskey, Tom Redmond

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Men of Value Contributor

Articles by various contributors to Men of Value, an online magazine for American men who value our Judeo-Christian values of faith, family, and freedom.