20.01.202608:24:30UTC+00Hang Seng Pares Early Losses at Close

The Hang Seng Index fell by 76 points, or 0.3%, closing at 26,487 on Tuesday, marking its fourth consecutive decline and reaching its lowest point in a week. Market sentiment was negatively impacted by a significant drop in U.S. futures, following President Trump's heightened attempts to exert U.S. influence over Greenland, coupled with his threats to impose new tariffs on several European nations. Additional caution was stirred by regulatory pressures in China, as mainland exchanges intensified their oversight to suppress speculative and irregular trading activities. Despite the morning downturns being somewhat mitigated, the People's Bank of China held the benchmark lending rates steady for the eighth consecutive month, following the country's fulfillment of its 5% growth aim in 2025. The major declines were seen in tech and consumer sectors, with significant underperformers such as Knowledge Atlas Tech, down 8.0%, Sunny Optical, down 3.2%, and SMIC, down 3.1%. On the other hand, China Taiping Insurance climbed by 4.0% to close at a near seven-year peak, buoyed by an optimistic earnings outlook.