Hong Kong aviation investigators say an engine problem that caused Cathay Pacific to ground its entire fleet of Airbus A350 jets for inspection earlier this month could have escalated into “extensive damage.

An engine defect in the Airbus A350 plane that led to the cancellation of dozens of Cathay Pacific flights in early September could have escalated into "extensive damage", according to the results of a Hong Kong probe released Thursday.

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) on Thursday cut its base rate charged via the overnight discount window by 50 basis points to 5.25%, tracking a move by the U.S. Federal Reserve. Hong Kong's monetary policy moves in lock-step with the United States as the city's currency is pegged to the greenback in a tight range of 7.

The Federal Reserve lowered its benchmark interest rate by a half percentage point Wednesday, an aggressive start to a policy shift aimed at bolstering the US labor market.

Hong Kong cut its base rate cut by half a percentage point for the first time in four years, kicking off a cycle that would help businesses and homeowners Hong Kong's de facto central bank cut its base interest rate for the first time in four years in lockstep with the US Federal Reserve,