Hang Seng index drops more than 3% as Evergrande shares plunge 10%, other property stocks fall
SINGAPORE — Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index led losses among Asia-Pacific markets in Monday trade, with shares of embattled Chinese developer China Evergrande Group continuing to drop
The Hang Seng index dropped 3.3% to close at 23,099.14. Shares of China Evergrande Group in the city plummeted 10.24%, after falling as much as 17% earlier
The Hang Seng Properties index dropped to a 52-week low, falling 6.69% on the day
Shares of insurers listed in the city also plunged. AIA dropped 4.94% while Ping An Insurance fell 5.78%
The S&P/ASX 200 in Australia fell 2.1% on the day to 7,248.20, with shares of major miners declining: Rio Tinto dropped 3.6%, Fortescue Metals Group declined 3.73% while BHP slipped 4.16%
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell 1.6%
Markets in mainland China, Japan and South Korea were closed on Monday for holidays
Over on Wall Street, stocks have struggled in the seasonally weak month of September, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average seeing three straight weeks of losses — its first in 2021
Investor focus for the week will likely be on the U.S. Federal Reserve’s upcoming September meeting for clues on the central bank’s tapering of its easy monetary policy
