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Hong Kong Stocks Fall Amid Middle East Uncertainty; Nine Firms File for IPO

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Hong Kong stocks closed lower Tuesday as uncertainty returned in the Middle East, raising bets for a U.S. rate hike.

The Hang Seng Index fell by around 145.66 points, or roughly 0.6%, to end at 22,881.02, while the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index decreased by 47.04 points, or 0.6%, to end at 7,558.30.

U.S. President Donald Trump said U.S. and Iranian officials will meet in Qatar on Tuesday after Tehran "requested" talks following days of reciprocal attacks that strained their interim agreement, according to AL Jazeera.

However, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said the Iranian delegation has no talks scheduled with the U.S. and is visiting Qatar only to secure the release of frozen assets.

Investors are now eyeing progress in the possible U.S.-Iran talks and U.S. June jobs data, scheduled to be released Thursday, for hints on the U.S. Federal Reserve's interest rate decision at its July 28-29 meeting.

So far, traders are pricing in about a 64% probability of a September increase, Reuters reported, citing the CME FedWatch tool.

In local development, the bad-loan ratio across Hong Kong banks declined in the first quarter of 2026, according to a quarterly update released by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority.

The classified loan ratio of the banking sector decreased to 1.87% at the end of March from 2.01% at the end of December 2025, the HKMA said.

In corporate news, nine firms filed to go public in Hong Kong in one of the busiest days for initial public offering filings.

Among the companies looking to go public were Alibaba-backed Chaozhou Three-Circle (HKG:6951, SHE:300408), Befar Group (HKG:6745, SHA:601678), Nexchip Semiconductor (China) (HKG:2249), and Luxshare Precision Industry (SHE:002475, HKG:2475).

Others included Jiangxi Qiyunshan Food (HKG:2797), Guangdong Dtech Technology (HKG:1377), and Rokae (Shandong) Robotics Group (HKG:3752).

EKH (HKG:2523) and Rigol Technologies (HKG:0537, SHA:688337) are also among the firms looking to go public.

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Hong Kong Stocks Fall Amid Middle East Uncertainty; Nine Firms File for IPO | FINWIRES