HSBC’s Wild Ride Pushes Hedging Costs to Highest in a Decade

  • Shares recover from 25-year low after Ping An raises stake
  • Political tension in China could derail HSBC’s expansion plans
Photographer: Chan Long Hei/Bloomberg
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Once one of Hong Kong’s steadiest stocks, HSBC Holdings Plc is now more than three times as volatile as the city’s benchmark. Investors are betting that will continue.

Options traders in Hong Kong are pricing in a volatile October, snapping up both bullish calls and bearish puts on HSBC. The cost of one-month contracts tied to HSBC’s Hong Kong shares has climbed to near the highest since May 2009 relative to those on the city’s Hang Seng Index, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. That indicated high demand to protect against further volatility in the stock.