Published September 18, 2026 Updated about 2 hours ago By Reuters HONG KONG: China and Hong Kong stock benchmarks declined on Thursday, led by rate-sensitive sectors such as gold and real estate, after the first US rate hike in three years fuelled worries about capital outflows. China’s blue-chip CSI300 Index and the Shanghai Composite Index dipped 0.4 percent each. Hong Kong benchmark Hang Seng fell 0.3 percent. The Federal Reserve raised interest rates on Wednesday and flagged more hikes in the coming months, setting a more hawkish tone than markets expected. Higher US rates widened its yield premium over China. In China, the CSI gold equity index slumped 4 percent, while an index of non-ferrous metal shares dropped 3 percent. Hong Kong’s property firms declined nearly 1 percent. The city raised its base interest rate by 25 basis points to 4.25 percent on Thursday, tracking the Fed hike. On the other…