HSI In Negative Territory On Fresh Covid Fears

The Hong Kong stock market joined its peers in the region to finish lower on Thursday, following a global sell-off spooked by a surge in coronavirus cases and new lockdown measures.

The Hang Seng Index shed as many as 450 points in the morning session but recovered some ground after lunch.

It ended the day 122 points or 0.5 percent lower at 24,586.

Turnover was HK$133.2 billion.

Market heavyweight Tencent continued to scale new heights. The mainland tech conglomerate touched a new high of $614 before giving up some of the gains to close 0.7 percent higher at HK$605.

Chinese delivery platform Meituan Dianping also set a new high, rallying more than 6 percent.

Financials continued to drag the market. HSBC and AIA each retreated more than 1 percent.

Markets across the border reversed earlier losses after leading consumer firms reported robust third-quarter earnings.

The Shanghai Composite Index added 0.1 percent while the blue-CSI 300 index rose 0.75 percent. The Shenzhen Composite Index put on 0.5 percent.

Elsewhere in Asia, the Nikkei in Japan declined 0.4 percent, Seoul’s Kospi shed 0.8 percent, Taiwan lost 1 percent, Sydney tumbled 1.6 percent and Singapore was also down.