HK bourse hammered as Asian markets fall

HK bourse hammered as Asian markets fall

AFP / Hong Kong

Asian equity markets fell yesterday, with Hong Kong tech firms leading another collapse in the city’s Hang Seng Index following the Covid-19 shutdown of tech hub Shenzhen and worries over Russia’s military outreach to China.

Concerns about China’s economic outlook saw oil prices suffer fresh selling pressure, with WTI falling back below $100 a week after it hit a 14-year high on the back of Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.

Hopes for progress in talks to bring an end to the war in eastern Europe were also putting pressure on the black gold.

Global markets have been in a spiral since Russian troops marched into the neighbouring country, leading international powers to impose crippling sanctions on the country and numerous companies to pull out.

The measures have fanned concerns about the supply of commodities from the region, particularly oil, sending prices through the roof and ramping up fears that already high inflation would run out of control and shoot a hole through a fragile economic recovery.

Among the hardest-hit markets has been Hong Kong, which was already under pressure from China’s regulatory crackdown on technology firms as part of the government’s move to tighten its grip on the economy.

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