HONG KONG (Nikkei Markets) -- Hong Kong shares edged down after a choppy trading day on Wednesday as investors considered a surprise rate cut by the U.S. Federal Reserve, which failed to boost confidence and sent stocks on Wall Street lower overnight.
The Hang Seng Index slipped 0.2% to 26,222.07 after changing direction at least nine times. The decline came even as the U.S. central bank on Tuesday unexpectedly announced a 50-basis-point rate cut. The Hong Kong Monetary Authority, the city's de-facto central bank, on Wednesday lowered its base rate charged through the overnight discount window by 50 basis points to 1.5% after the Fed's move.
