Hong Kong’s Hang Seng slumps more than 3%, leading sharp falls in Asia session

Hong Kong stocks led sharp losses in Asia-Pacific markets after the S&P 500 set a new 2022 low overnight on Wall Street. The offshore and onshore Chinese yuan reached weakest levels since 2008 and the Indian rupee also marked a record low

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index dropped 3.45% in the final hour of trade, with the Hang Seng Tech index down 3.88%. In mainland China, the Shanghai Composite was 1.58% lower at 3,045.07, and the Shenzhen Component fell 2.465% to 10,899.70

The Kospi in South Korea shed 2.45% to 2,169.29. Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell more than 2% at session lows but closed 1.5% lower at 26,173.98, while the Topix index slipped 0.95% to 1,855.15

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan dropped 2.32%, reaching lowest levels since March 2020. In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 was 0.53% lower

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gave up earlier gains of around 400 points to fall 125.82 points, or 0.43%, to 29,134.99 at the end of the session. The Nasdaq Composite was up 0.25% to 10,829.50