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Hong Kong stock market
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Hong Kong stocks slide in short session due to Typhoon Higos, with Trump’s latest salvo weighing on sentiment

  • Trading in Hong Kong was suspended in morning over typhoon
  • Trump calls China’s handling of virus ‘unthinkable’; US universities urged to cut Chinese stocks

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Bags of Anerle infant diapers of Hengan International Group are displayed at a fair in Fuzhou city, southeast Chinas Fujian province. Hengan’s results disappointed investors, sending the stock down on Wednesday. Photo: Imaginechina
Martin Choi

Hong Kong stocks slid, snapping a two-day winning streak as investors dealt with a typhoon at home that shortened the trading session and another metaphorical one sent by US President Donald Trump that depressed sentiment.

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The Hang Seng Index slipped 0.7 per cent to close at 25,178.91 on Wednesday, with sentiment weakened by worsening US-China relations. Overnight, President Donald Trump attacked China’s “unthinkable” handling of the coronavirus. Meanwhile, US universities were urged to dump Chinese stocks.

“The constant drumbeats around US-China frictions continue to temper the mood,” said Stephen Innes, chief global market strategist at AxiCorp. “The US dollar remains under pressure,” he added.

The Hong Kong dollar touched HK$7.75, the upper end of the trading band of its peg against a weakening US dollar.

Bourse operator Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEX) slipped 1.4 per cent to HK$373.60. It reported record first-half and quarterly profits on the back of rising market turnover and a wave of Chinese tech giants seeking listings in the city amid rising US-China tensions.
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China’s dominant infant formula maker China Feihe fell 2.4 per cent despite reporting first-half earnings that beat estimates. It hopes to reach at least 30 per cent of the baby milk powder market in the world’s most populous nation by 2023.
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