BUS_181220-STOCK-(Read-Only)
People in front of an electronic board showing the Hong Kong share index. File photo. Image Credit: AP

AFP

Hong Kong: Stocks here plunged at the open on Thursday following a heavy sell-off on Wall Street after the Federal Reserve ramped up interest rates again and warned there would be more to come.

The Hang Seng Index sank 2.21 per cent, or 349.43 points, to 15,477.74.

The Shanghai Composite Index dropped 0.74 per cent, or 22.17 points, to 2,981.20, while the Shenzhen Composite Index on China's second exchange lost 0.90 per cent, or 17.76 points, to 1,950.45.

US stocks fall after Fed's latest rate hike

In New York, Wall Street stocks retreated Wednesday after the Federal Reserve announced another big interest rate hike and signaled expectations for more increases.

Near 1920 GMT, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.7 per cent at 32,431.91.

The broad-based S&P 500 dropped 1.4 percent to 3,800.96, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index fell 2.1 percent to 10,665.51.

The US central bank, as expected, raised the benchmark borrowing rate by 0.75 percentage point.

Markets rallied after the Fed's 1800 GMT statement that opened the door to a more moderate stance, saying the US central bank would assess the "cumulative" effect of its monetary policy moves.

Investors viewed the statement as corroborating its hope that the Fed could undertake smaller hikes in December and at future meetings.

But major indices tumbled into the red during the news conference when Fed Chair Jerome Powell signaled more interest rate hikes ahead, saying it was "very premature" to discuss pausing rate increases and that he didn't the body had "overtightened."

But Powell also said the central bank would discuss slowing the pace of rate increases in December.