Hong Kong shares opened lower on Thursday as investors shifted focus to US inflation data due later in the day. The benchmark Hang Seng opened down 1.11% and last traded at 16,538, just under 350 points from hitting the 2009 lows.

Shares in Nio, Meituan and JD.com fell over 3% in morning trade, while Alibaba shares lost over 1.5%.

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“The US Producer Price Index shows that inflation is still strong, bolstering the need for the Federal Reserve to continue aggressively tightening monetary policy. The market is now waiting to see if US consumer price data also shows strong inflation,” ANZ Research wrote in a statement.

Macro News: China’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) importers will stay out of the spot market this winter as demand growth is at its slowest since 2002. reported Reuters.

Shanghai’s COVID-19 cases rose to a three-month high as city officials quietly closed schools and a number of other venues. reported Bloomberg.

corporate news: tick tock parent ByteDance Ltd. has started talks with music labels about expanding its music streaming service globally, reported the Wall Street Journal, citing sources.

Top winners and losers: Country Garden Services Holdings Company Limited and Longfor Group Holdings Limited were the top losers among Hang Seng constituents, falling over 12% and 5%, respectively. CSPC Pharmaceutical Group Limited and Nongfu Spring Co.,Ltd. were the top gainers, up 2% and 0.9% respectively.

Global News: US futures were trading in the green in Asia on Thursday morning. Dow Jones futures were up 0.13%, while Nasdaq futures were up 0.05%. Futures on the S&P 500…