Hong Kong stocks hit over 3-year closing low on coronavirus worries
18/03/2020 09:03
* HK->Shanghai Connect daily quota used -7.1%, Shanghai->HK
daily
quota used 10.4%
* HSI -4.2%, HSCE -4.5%, CSI300 -2.0%
* FTSE China A50 -2.3%
March 18 (Reuters) - Hong Kong stocks slumped on Wednesday
to their lowest close in more than three years, joining a
sell-off in other Asian markets as mounting worries over the
rapid spread of the coronavirus outbreak outside China dashed
risk sentiment.
** The Hang Seng index .HSI fell 4.2% to 22,291.82, its
lowest close since January 2017, while the China Enterprises
Index .HSCE lost 4.5% to 8,800.62.
** Sell-off was across the board. The sub-index of the Hang
Seng tracking energy shares .HSCIE dipped 6.5%, the IT sector
.HSCIIT declined 5.18%, the financial sector .HSNF ended
3.13% lower and the property sector lost 5.38%.
** Around the region, MSCI's Asia ex-Japan stock index
.MIAPJ0000PUS was weaker by 3.95%, while Japan's Nikkei index
.N225 closed down 1.68%.
** Downgrade risk to the earnings outlook for Hong Kong
companies is increasing, which could weigh on the room for a
rebound in the Hang Seng index, brokerage Cinda International
said in report.
** The biggest loser was Sunny Optical Technology Group Co
Ltd 2382.HK , which fell 11.92%.
** China's main Shanghai Composite index .SSEC closed down
1.83% at 2,728.76, while the blue-chip CSI300 index .CSI300
ended down 1.98%.
** The yuan CNY=CFXS was quoted at 7.025 per U.S. dollar
at 08:33 GMT, 0.27% weaker than the previous close of 7.006.
** At close, China's A-shares were trading at a premium of
34.57% over Hong Kong-listed H-shares.
(Reporting by the Shanghai Newsroom; Editing by Subhranshu
Sahu)
((luoyan.liu@thomsonreuters.com; Reuters Messaging:
luoyan.liu.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))