Non-ferrous metal stocks led the decline. As of press time, JIANGXI COPPER (00358) fell 2.48% to HK$25.2; CMOC (03993) dropped 2.85% to HK$12.28; CHALCO (02600) declined 2.12% to HK$7.38; and ZIJIN MINING (02899) fell 1.26% to HK$28.14.

On the news front, on September 17 local time, the U.S. Federal Reserve concluded its two-day monetary policy meeting and announced a 25 basis point cut to the federal funds rate target range to 4.00%-4.25%. Although the Fed cut rates as expected, during the post-meeting press conference, Fed Chairman Powell emphasized that this move does not signal the start of a prolonged rate-cutting cycle. Powell acknowledged weakness in the labor market but believed the current situation was insufficient for the Fed to implement larger rate cuts.

Cathay Haitong Securities previously issued a research report stating that U.S. August CPI data was largely in line with expectations, combined with increasingly evident labor market weakness, continued to fuel rate cut expectations. Under expectations of a liquidity inflection point, both precious metals and industrial metals prices received significant support. With the September meeting approaching, markets await Fed guidance on the future rate cut path, while ongoing China-U.S. trade negotiations may amplify metal price volatility.

The firm noted that for industrial metals, consecutive labor market weakness has raised some recession concerns in the market. However, considering supportive policies both domestically and internationally, combined with the approaching peak demand season, industrial commodities are expected to continue performing well.