The Hang Seng Index eased 0.5 per cent to 21,280.87 as of 10.47am local time. The Hang Seng Tech Index lost 1.3 per cent. Hong Kong’s market was closed on Friday and Monday for the Easter holiday.
On the mainland, the CSI 300 Index slipped less than 0.1 per cent and the Shanghai Composite Index added 0.2 per cent.
E-commerce operator JD.com slid 6.6 per cent to HK$130.00 and Meituan lost 6.4 per cent to HK$127.70. Haidilao International Holding sank 4.1 per cent to HK$16.68 and Anta Sports Products shed 2.1 per cent to HK$88. Gold producer Zijin Mining Group rallied 4.4 per cent to HK$17.98 after bullion prices topped US$3,400 an ounce for the first time.
Three key US stock benchmarks tumbled more than 2 per cent overnight after Trump threatened to replace Fed chair Jerome Powell, putting at risk the independence of the world’s biggest central bank. Kevin Hassett, director of the National Economic Council, said on Friday that Trump was studying whether he could fire Powell.
Trump and Powell are at odds over the Fed’s interest-rate trajectory, with the president urging lower borrowing costs to spur growth and the latter refraining from doing so amid concerns about a resurgence in inflation due to higher tariffs.