Hong Kong Market Slips As US Data Spooks Investors

Hong Kong stocks ended Thursday's morning session lower, as poor US economic data and a negative cue from Wall Street compounded investors' fears about the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

The Hang Seng Index was down 0.8 percent, at 23,954 at the break.

On the mainland, the Shanghai Composite Index was down 0.2 per cent, to 2,806 while the Shenzhen Composite Index lost 0.3 percent, to 1,731.

The woes on Wall Street discouraged traders in Asia, where Tokyo was down 1.2 percent and Sydney dropped 1.4 percent.

Seoul slipped 0.6 percent, while Taipei shed 0.3 percent.

There had already been a spate of grim economic forecasts this week, with the IMF warning of the worst global downturn in a century, and poor US economic figures released Wednesday spooked investors further.

"The economic data was nothing short of disastrous," Ann Miletti of Wells Fargo Asset Management told Bloomberg TV.

"How long can you sustain the shutdown is what's on investors' minds."

There was bad news on oil markets too, with the International Energy Agency warning that 2020 was likely to be "the worst year in the history" of the sector. (AFP)

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