Alibaba, Nio Stocks Rise: Hang Seng Reflects Caution Ahead Of FOMC Minutes Release

Hong Kong stocks opened in the green on Wednesday, with the benchmark Hang Seng trading marginally higher ahead of the release of the FOMC minutes due later today. 

On Monday, Cleveland Federal Reserve President Loretta Mester reportedly stated she thinks the central bank can slow down from the 75 basis points hike at its next meeting and that it’s very appropriate. 

Alibaba shares gained close to 1% despite news that Chinese authorities may impose a fine of over $1 billion on Jack Ma's Ant Group. Shares of Nio and Baidu rose 2%.

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Macro News: China's market regulator has proposed revisions to a law on unfair competition, making provisions for fines ranging as high as a 5% share of a firm's annual revenue, reported Reuters.

Beijing shut parks and museums on Tuesday while Shanghai stiffened rules for people entering the city as China grappled with a spike in COVID-19 cases, reported Reuters.

Company News: Chinese officials are reportedly set to impose a fine of over $1 billion on Ant Group.

Tesla Inc TSLA is set to announce new price cuts in China before the end of the year to boost sales, reported CnEVPost, citing local tech media.

Top Gainers and Losers: WuXi Biologics (Cayman) Inc. and Alibaba Health Information Technology Limited are the top losers on the Hang Seng index, shedding over 3% each. ENN Energy Holdings Limited and JD.com, Inc. are the top gainers, having risen over 1% each.

Global News: U.S. futures traded mixed on Wednesday morning Asia session. The Dow Jones futures were up 0.03%, while the Nasdaq futures lost 0.20%. The S&P 500 futures were trading lower by 0.03%.

Elsewhere in Asia-Pacific, Australia’s ASX 200 was up 0.6%. Japan’s Nikkei 225 traded 0.61% higher, while China’s Shanghai Composite index was trading up by 0.27%. South Korea’s Kospi gained 0.17%.

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