Hong Kong Stocks Tumble Amid Robust U.S. Jobs Data

Hong Kong stocks hit their lowest in over a month on Tuesday due to a robust U.S. jobs report, reducing hopes for Federal Reserve rate cuts. Mainland China stocks also fell. Investors anticipate China's May credit lending data for economic insights. The Shanghai Composite index and other indices saw significant drops.

Hong Kong stocks fell to the lowest level in more than a month on Tuesday, the first trading day after a long weekend break, weighed down by a surprisingly robust U.S. jobs data that sparked a dramatic paring of bets for Federal Reserve rate cuts this year. Meanwhile, mainland China stocks were dragged down by losses in the consumer sector and non-ferrous metal industry.

Investors now keenly awaited China's May credit lending data this week to gauge the health of the broad economy. A Reuters poll suggested that China's new yuan loans likely rebounded in May from April as the central bank told lenders to quicken bank lending to support the economy.

** At the midday break, the Shanghai Composite index was down 1.1% at 3,017.73 points. ** China's blue-chip CSI300 index was down 1.21%, with the consumer staples sector down 2.33% and the non-ferrous metal industry losing 3.34%.

** Losses in the non-ferrous metal industry shares came after the London copper price hit its lowest level in more than five weeks on Monday, amid a firm dollar and constraints in physical demand. ** Chinese H-shares listed in Hong Kong fell 1.68% to 6,400.93 points. The benchmark Hang Seng Index was down 1.67% at 18,059.96 points, the lowest intraday level since May 2.

** The smaller Shenzhen index was down 0.32%, the start-up board ChiNext Composite index was weaker by 0.39% and Shanghai's tech-focused STAR50 index was up 1.52%. ** Around the region, MSCI's Asia ex-Japan stock index was weaker by 0.62% while Japan's Nikkei index was up 0.25%.

** The yuan was quoted at 7.253 per U.S. dollar, 0.07% weaker than the previous close of 7.248.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)