Live news updates: Hong Kong and China shares drop as concerns mount over high interest rates

Hong Kong equities dropped on Tuesday while broader Asian equity markets diverged as concerns over the prospect of persistently high interest rates rocked investor confidence.

The Hang Seng index shed as much as 1.8 per cent, with significant losses for technology and healthcare stocks. China’s CSI 300 also fell 0.7 per cent.

Alibaba Health Information Technology, the online health affiliate of the ecommerce group, was down about 4.6 per cent in the morning, while Lenovo, the world’s largest personal computer manufacturer, and food delivery platform Meituan shed 3.2 per cent and 3 per cent, respectively.

Technology stocks are particularly sensitive to interest rate expectations.

The losses in China and Hong Kong followed similar declines in the US, where the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite fell 0.7 per cent and 1 per cent, respectively, following the Jackson Hole summit of global central bankers.

Policymakers from the US Federal Reserve and European Central Bank used speeches at the meeting to reiterate their commitment to fighting inflation.

But markets elsewhere in Asia were more upbeat on Tuesday morning, with Japan’s Topix and South Korea’s Kospi up 1.2 per cent and 0.6 per cent, respectively.

Oil prices moderated after strong gains the day before, with international benchmark Brent crude down 0.6 per cent and US marker West Texas Intermediate shedding 0.3 per cent.