Hang Seng Index slides below 15,000-point psychological level to lowest since October 2022 on losses in Tencent, AIA

Name: Hong Kong stock market falls below 15,000 level, its lowest in 15 months
Uploaded: 2024-01-22T02:52:45.000Z
Duration: 5 min 39 s
Description: Hong Kong stock market falls below 15,000 level, its lowest in 15 months

Chinese lenders retained one- and five-year loan prime rates at this month’s setting in another disappointment for borrowers and investors

Hang Seng Index has lost more than 12 per cent this year in the market’s worst start to a year since 2016

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The closing figure of Hang Seng Index is displayed outside the World Wide House in Central on Monday. The index closed 347.51 points lower at 14,961.18. Photo: Dickson Lee

Jiaxing Li

Published: 10:52am, 22 Jan 2024Updated: 11:00pm, 22 Jan 2024

Hong Kong stocks slumped to near the lowest in 15 months, adding to a three-week rout, as investors continued to feel let down by a lack of stimulus to fuel China’s economic recovery. A decision to keep key lending rates unchanged added to the policy inertia.

The Hang Seng Index slid 2.3 per cent to 14,961.18 on Monday, a psychological threshold seen during the October 2022 slump, before China abandoned its zero-Covid policy the following month. The Hang Seng Tech Index sank 3 per cent.

On the mainland’s bourses, the declines were sharper. The Shanghai Composite Index fell 2.7 per cent to a level not seen since April 2020, while the all-share Shenzhen Composite Index plunged 4.5 per cent.

All but three out the 82 index members dropped. Tencent tumbled 3.3 per cent to HK$262.20, Meituan lost 4.7 per cent to HK$65.40 and Baidu dropped 3.6 per cent to HK$95.60, leading steep declines among Chinese tech leaders. China Resources Land crashed 11 per cent to HK$20.50, and peer Longfor retreated 10 per cent to HK$7.92.

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Hong Kong stock market falls below 15,000 level, its lowest in 15 months

Electric-car maker BYD slipped 2.4 per cent to HK$190.90, while Li Auto slid 5 per cent to HK$104.70. Among financial companies, insurer AIA lost 2.2 per cent to HK$59.10 and HSBC weakened 0.3 per cent to HK$58.50.