Hong Kong’s Blue-Chip Index Plunges
From Staff Reports
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index had its biggest daily loss since the day after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, and has now lost 23% from its Oct. 30 high, crossing the 20% loss threshold that has traditionally signaled a bear market.
“Sentiment is very weak and investors are selling big time,” Mona Chung, who helps manage $2.5 billion at Hong Kong-based Daiwa Asset Management Ltd., told Bloomberg. “If the [United States] goes into recession, undoubtedly that’ll drag down this part of the world.”
The Hang Seng Index lost 5.4%, while the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index [or H-shares Index], which measures the share price of Hong Kong-listed mainland China companies and includes several state-owned firms, lost 6.6%, its biggest decline in over three years.
“[H shares] have held up the most relative to other stocks, so they are playing catch up now,” Andy Mantel, managing director of Pacific Sun Investment Management, told MarketWatch.
China’s Shanghai Composite index declined 2.8%. Japan’s Nikkei index dropped 3.4%.
News and Related Story Links:
- Bloomberg:
Hong Kong Stocks Have Biggest Drop Since Sept. 11 Attacks - MarketWatch:
China shares plunge as big funds head for the exit - Xinhua
:Hong Kong stocks close sharply lower
