Hong Kong Stocks Slide Again As Chaos Continues

Hong Kong stocks plunged on Wednesday as investors braced for further unrest following days of violent protests that have almost ground parts of the city to a halt.

The Hang Seng index sank 1.8 percent, to 26,587 by noon.

Property and real estate firms were among the biggest losers, with Swire Properties, Sino Land and Henderson Land shedding more than 3 percent while New World Development crumbled more than 4 percent.

Businesses were braced for another day of chaos, with the transport system partially closed and businesses shuttering.

Across the border, the Shanghai Composite Index edged down 0.4 percent to 2,903, and the Shenzhen Composite Index edged down 0.1 percent, to 1,615.

Tokyo ended the morning session 0.9 percent lower, Shanghai and Sydney each fell 0.5 percent, Seoul dropped one percent and Singapore was off 0.7 percent. Wellington, Taipei, Manila and Jakarta were also well down. (AFP)

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