Azernews.Az

Friday March 29 2024

Hong Kong stock gauge declines as trading resumes after Typhoon

16 September 2014 10:07 (UTC+04:00)
Hong Kong stock gauge declines as trading resumes after Typhoon

By Bloomberg

Hong Kong stocks fell, with the benchmark index set to decline for an eighth day, after foreign direct investment in China slumped to a four-year low. The city's markets were closed in the morning because of a typhoon.

The Hang Seng Index slipped 0.1 percent to 24,338.92 as of 1:02 p.m. in Hong Kong. The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index of mainland equities listed in the city, also known as the H-share index, lost 0.1 percent to 10,828.66.

Hong Kong canceled morning stock trading sessions after the city issued its third-highest storm signal for the first time this year for Typhoon Kalmaegi. The city also closed schools and banks, while hundreds of flights were delayed or canceled.

Foreign direct investment into China, a gauge of external confidence, dropped 14 percent in August from a year earlier amid widening antitrust probes into multinational companies, data showed today. Inbound investment was $7.2 billion last month after a 17 percent drop in July.

The H-share measure lost 5 percent since Sept. 8 through yesterday, paring this year's advance to 0.2 percent, as investors weighed the strength of mainland economy after reports from industrial output to retail sales missed analyst estimates. The index traded at 7.3 times estimated earnings at the last close compared with 11.2 for the Hang Seng Index and 16.6 for the Standard & Poor's 500 Index.

Futures on the S&P 500 were little changed today after the underlying equity benchmark dropped 0.1 percent yesterday. Internet stocks and small-cap shares tumbled, sending the Nasdaq Composite Index near a one-month low, as investors sold some of the bull market's best-performing shares.

Economic data yesterday showed U.S. industrial production unexpectedly declined in August for the first time in seven months as automakers slowed assembly lines.

Federal Reserve policy makers begin a two-day meeting today as they wind down a bond-buying program and consider when to start raising interest rates. The central bank has been saying since March that interest rates would stay low for a "considerable time" after it completes the asset purchases known as quantitative easing.

Loading...
Latest See more