Hong Kong shares tumble

The Hong Kong skyline at night.

The Hong Kong skyline at night.

Published Jun 24, 2016

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Hong Kong - Hong Kong stocks tumbled on Friday, joining the global market rout after Britain voted to leave the European Union.

But the mid-session panic-selling triggered by the Brexit vote also attracted bargain hunting, which in the afternoon helped the market recover much of its losses in heavy trading.

At the close, the benchmark Hang Seng Index was down 2.9 percent, to 20,259.13, while the China Enterprises Index also had lost 2.9 percent, to 8,530.10 points.

At one point, both indexes had fallen more 5 percent.

For the week, the HSI rose 0.4 percent, while HSCE was up 0.5 percent.

Alex Wong, Hong Kong-based director at Ample Finance Group, said the market overreacted initially, but them gained some composure.

"After over-reaction, investors realised that Brexit won't have an immediate huge impact... and won't suddenly cause a financial crisis," he said, adding that next investors need to watch reactions in the United States.

Shares fell across the board in Hong Kong, led by financial and energy stocks.

British lender HSBC Holdings, at one point down 12.4 percent, ended the day off 6.6 percent, at its lowest close since June 16. An index tracking Hong Kong-listed financial stocks dropped 3.6 percent.

REUTERS

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