Hong Kong shares fall – again – to mark a near 18-month low
- Shanghai Composite recovers from morning slide
- Three days of losses for Hang Seng leave it at lowest level since May 9, 2017
Hong Kong shares dropped to their lowest levels in nearly 18 months on Thursday, while China’s main stock index turned around early losses after an overnight rout in the US spilled over into Asia.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index closed down 1.01 per cent to 24,994.46, bringing its three-day losing streak to 4.5 per cent. Its close was the lowest since May 9, 2017. The index, which was one of the world’s best performers last year, is now down about 16.5 per cent for the year.
It and the Shanghai Composite Index started the day off struggling against deep overnight losses in US markets. But the Shanghai benchmark recovered, eking out the tiniest of gains, 0.02 per cent, to close at 2,603.8. It had been down by as much 2.8 per cent in the morning session.
Shanghai’s turnaround prompted some speculation that state-backed funds had intervened to put a floor under the world’s worst-performing major market this year.
The day’s reversal was reminiscent of how the state sought to shore up equities by directly buying shares after the market meltdown in 2015 that erased US$5 trillion in market cap. Brokerages and property developers led the turnaround, as the national team, as the state-linked funds are dubbed, was suspected of piling in.