Hong Kong’s Stocks Buckle Under Weight of Negative News Flow
- WeChat ban, sanctions on officials pose risk to listed firms
- Hang Seng Index trades at cheapest versus world since 1999
Photographer: Anthony Wallace/AFP via Getty Images
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Hong Kong stocks are bearing the brunt of escalating actions taken by Washington and Beijing to protect their national security.
The Hang Seng Index fell 0.6% on Monday to close at a six-week low. Top of investor concerns is deciphering the impact on the city’s listed firms from a host of measures taken in the Chinese and U.S. capitols. The broad sweep of Hong Kong’s new national security law, a planned ban on U.S. residents doing business with Tencent Holdings Ltd.’s WeChat app, as well as sanctions on some officials in the former British colony all hold potential for negative consequences for various firms and industries.