The collapse of Indonesia's financial markets and fears about the future of the dollar peg helped push Hong Kong share prices sharply lower yesterday.
The Hang Seng Index fell for the sixth day in a row, slumping 284.08 points, or 2.97 per cent, to 9,254.53. A late rally lifted it off the day's low of 8,928.86.
So far this year, the index has dropped almost 14 per cent amid the Asian financial crisis.
And the turmoil in regional equity markets continued yesterday with severe losses seen in Singapore and Manila. Currencies also remained weak.
While SAR stocks slid, local interbank lending rates jumped, with the market falling below the 9,000-point level.
Higher rates for lending between banks suggest that pressure may be building against the 14-year tie between the local dollar and its US counterpart.
