The Hong Kong stock market remained jittery yesterday amid fears of an escalation in the political bickering between Hong Kong and the mainland and of capital outflows prompted by a stronger US dollar.
The Hang Seng Index fell for the third day in a row and a drop in trading volumes, which suggested selling pressure had eased somewhat compared with the previous session, failed to excite market watchers who projected yet more downside.
'The fall in turnover is not a good sign,' First Shanghai Securities strategist Linus Yip said. 'We have already dropped almost 500 points and there is still no buying interest. I think we will fall more.'
Concerns included the heightened tension between Beijing and some political parties in Hong Kong over democratic reform, which some people feared could ultimately lead to the mainland withdrawing its support for Hong Kong if not solved, he said.
The blue-chip Hang Seng Index finished 2.53 points, or 0.01 per cent, lower at 13,451.56 points, bringing the fall in the past three sessions to 467.09 points. The index shed 2.01 per cent on Wednesday.
Turnover eased to $17.29 billion from more than $21 billion on each of the previous two days.
