Hong Kong stocks tumble 3%, Asia markets dip after Fed minutes point to more rate hikes

Hong Kong-listed shares of Chinese banks were among the leading decliners in the Hang Seng index after Goldman Sachs reportedly downgraded its ratings for the top mainland lenders.

Goldman Sachs lowered its rating for Agricultural Bank of China to “sell” from “neutral,” as well as downgrading Industrial and Commercial Bank of China and Industrial Bank from “buy” to “sell,” Reuters reported.

Hong Kong listed shares of Agricultural Bank of China dropped nearly 2% while ICBC fell 2.4%. Bank of Communications fell 1.54%.

The report added that Goldman cited investor concerns over the the banks’ exposure to local government debt, earnings risk as well as diverging fortunes among individual banks.

Australia’s trade surplus for June came in at 11.79 billion Australian dollars in May, higher than the AU$11.15 billion recorded in April.

The figure also beat expectations of economists polled by Reuters, who expected the surplus to decline to AU$10.5 billion.

Government data showed that imports of goods and services into Australia increased by 2.5% month on month in May, while exports climbed 4.4%.

— Lim Hui Jie

Shares of electronics manufacturer Foxconn fell 0.92% after the company posted a 14% drop in sales for the second quarter, compared to the the same period a year ago

Sales for Foxconn, also known as Hon Hai Precision Industry, came in at 1.3 billion New Taiwan dollars ($41.76 billion) in the second quarter.

However, the company is more optimistic about the year ahead, saying that “with the second half of the year peak season currently underway, operations will gradually ramp up.”

Third quarter sales are expected to increase at a compared to the second quarter, and Foxconn said that when compared to the pre-pandemic period, the growth rate is expected…