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Hong Kong halts full-day stock market trading for the second time this month as severe rainstorm brings city to standstill
- Bourse operator HKEX halted trading on Friday, after the Hong Kong Observatory issued the Black Rainstorm warning overnight
- Markets were also halted on September 1 after the Observatory raised the No. 8 signal and later the highest No. 10, for Typhoon Saola
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Hong Kong halted the trading of stocks and derivatives for the second time this month, after the local Observatory issued the Black Rainstorm warning, its signal for the most severe weather conditions.
The northbound link of the Stock Connect, which enables foreign investors to buy mainland Chinese equities, will also be similarly affected, bourse operator Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing said in a statement.
The Black Rainstorm warning was still in force at noon local time, which compels the market to shut for the entire day under the exchange’s extreme weather arrangements.
Intense gusts reaching 80km per hour or stronger may continue to affect Hong Kong, the Observatory said in the latest update on its website. The conditions could last until 6pm, the government said separately on Friday, after suspending schools. John Lee Ka-chiu, the city’s chief executive, is scheduled to speak to the media at 2pm.
The Hang Seng Index fell 1 per cent to 18,202.07 for the week, snapping a two-week rebound, following China’s poor external trade data for August and concerns about the slide in the nation’s currency.
The weather agency issued the No. 8 signal on September 1, and later raised it to the highest No. 10 as Typhoon Saola approached, the worst storm to hit the city since Mangkhut in September 2018.
HKEX handled HK$115.5 billion (US$14.5 billion) of turnover per day in securities trading in the first six months this year, a 16 per cent drop from the same period last year, according to its interim report on August 28. The market for exchange-traded funds averaged HK$11.7 billion per day in the same period, it added.
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