HONG KONG: Hong Kong stocks plunged Wednesday as investors braced for further unrest following days of violent protests that have almost ground parts of the city to a halt, with police warning it was close to “total collapse”.
There are even whispers that Alibaba’s plans for a share sale worth up to US$15 billion in the city – which reports said Wednesday were approved by regulators – could be affected. The firm had already called off a summer listing owing to the protests and the China-US trade war.The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index ended 0.33%, or 9.58 points lower, at 2,914.82, while the Shenzhen Composite Index, which tracks stocks on China’s second exchange, was marginally higher, adding 0.11 points to 1,614.
“The situation in Hong Kong has taken a decidedly dark turn this week, with the violence and economic disruption seemingly gathering pace,” said Oanda senior market analyst Jeffrey Halley, adding that nervousness about Hong Kong was weighing on other Asian markets.