Hong Kong stocks continued falling Wednesday as investors made bets on the U.S. policy outlook under newly appointed Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh.
The Hang Seng Index fell by around 181.79 points, or roughly 0.7%, to end at 24,312.16, while the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index decreased by 96.02 points, or 1.2%, to end at 8,144.03.
Global markets will closely follow Warsh's comments on inflation, unemployment, and the economic outlook at his first post-Federal Open Market Committee press conference later in the day.
In local development, Hong Kong's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate stood at 3.7% for the March to May period, unchanged from the previous three-month period. The underemployment rate also remained unchanged at 1.5%.
In corporate news, six firms filed to go public in Hong Kong.
Among the list were Lingyi iTech (Guangdong) (SHE:002600, HKG:1688) with plans to raise HK$8.26 billion; SG Micro (SHE:300661, HKG:3661), which is seeking to raise up to HK$4.60 billion; and Circuit Fabology Microelectronics Equipment (SHA:688630, HKG:9630), with a target of up to HK$3.24 billion.
Indonesian miner Merdeka Gold Resources (IDX:EMAS, HKG:6228) is also looking to go public in Hong Kong to raise up to HK$2.39 billion, while Beijing Zhongke WengeAI Science and Technology (HKG:1956) said it was seeking up to HK$900 million and Keytop Parking (HKG:2272) said it was targeting HK$399.9 million.