Hong Kong stocks retreat as geopolitical worries weigh

Hong Kong stocks fell on Friday, tracking global peers, as mounting geopolitical worries along with hawkish pushback by some U.S. Federal Reserve officials weighed on risk sentiment in a cautious end to the week. ** Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index dipped 0.68%, after sliding as much as 1.5% in early trading.

Hong Kong stocks fell on Friday, tracking global peers, as mounting geopolitical worries along with hawkish pushback by some U.S. Federal Reserve officials weighed on risk sentiment in a cautious end to the week. ** Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index dipped 0.68%, after sliding as much as 1.5% in early trading. Still, the index is on course to eke out a small gain for the week.

** Mainland China's financial markets are closed for a public holiday on Friday. ** MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell 0.7% as risk aversion permeated the market ahead of U.S. jobs data due later in the day.

** U.S. Fed officials, including Richmond Fed President Thomas Barkin and Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari, doused expectations that rate cuts were likely on the horizon as, they endorsed a careful approach to monetary easing. ** Investor sentiment was also hit by escalating tensions in the Middle East, with Israel bracing on Thursday for the possibility of a retaliatory attack after its suspected killing of Iranian generals in Damascus this week.

** The threat of supply disruptions owing to a prolonged conflict in the Middle East has pushed oil prices higher. The Hang Seng China A Energy Index was up 2.2%. ** Meanwhile, the Hang Seng China Enterprises index fell 1%, while the Hang Seng Tech index was 1.25% lower.

** Data on Wednesday showed that China's services activity growth accelerated in March as new business rose at the quickest pace in three months, adding to signs that China's economic recovery may be gaining traction.

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