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Celine Sun

Danny Mok

'Stocks are dead' was the refrain from small investors yesterday as the market plunged.
Mr Choy, a 33-year-old building services engineer, said he had lost tens of thousands of dollars in the past week and more than HK$100,000 since last year.
He said he was one of many 'crab investors' - tied up by huge losses and unable to enter or leave the market. Mr Choy said he had been holding many blue-chip shares, like those of mainland oil firms and banks, because he thought they would be stable and safe.
'Last week I thought it was almost the worst that it could be,' he said. 'Who would have thought it could go further down today?
'Definitely, I would not sell them at the moment, and I'm not confident enough to enter the market ... even if I get extra money.'
At the Bank of China branch in Jordan yesterday, dozens of retail investors checking stock prices on the bank's terminals remained relatively calm as the market experienced its biggest single-day loss in the past decade.
'How can the market steady itself? It's like a drunken person,' said an investor when the Hang Seng Index was down about 1,500 points at around 3pm.
Half an hour later, the index had fallen 1,900 points 'without taking a breath', triggering a round of exclamations among the investors.
'Wow, HSBC has gone under HK$77. Now even the most bullheaded stock is dead,' one investor said.
A small rebound before the market closed failed to offer much relief for the small investors, with many saying they had lost confidence in stocks.
Ms Lam, a woman in her 60s, said she had been left with nothing after spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on stocks.
'It's all my savings. Now I don't even have the money to buy myself a coffin,' she said.
In Taikoo Shing, several passers-by were attracted by the television screen at a Bank of China branch, which showed stock prices after the market closed.
'I saw HSBC closed at HK$75 just now. I told myself I must have misread it,' said businesswoman Polly Lee, 48.
Ms Lee bought some stocks last week when she believed it was the 'bottom' of the market. However, she has now had to re-assess the situation. 'I am thinking of waiting another week before my next buy,' she said. 'It should be closer to the real bottom, shouldn't it?'
Retired worker Mr Yiu said the market was 'bottomless'.
'The financial markets around the world are collapsing,' he said. 'How can Hong Kong remain well by itself?'
He said he had decided not to buy any more stocks, even if the market continues to fall in the coming weeks.
'Today's situation is much worse than the Sars outbreak in 2003 and the Southeast Asian financial crisis in 1998,' he said. 'No one can rescue the market, not even the government.'



Small investors unite to say 'stocks are dead'