All rain, no gain for HKEx as storm alert halts trading
Black signal wipes 10 per cent off turnover after the exchange was restricted to afternoon session
Hong Kong's first black rainstorm warning since 2010 forced the stock exchange to halt trading yesterday morning, resulting in lost turnover of more than 10 per cent for the world's biggest exchange operator.
"Many local day traders stood on the sidelines even after the market resumed in the afternoon, since they normally buy in the morning and sell in the afternoon," said Castor Pang, the head of research at Core Pacific-Yamaichi.
Total turnover on the bourse was HK$52.4 billion yesterday, compared with an average of HK$58.5 billion per day in May.
"The gap was mainly caused by the absence of day traders," Pang said.
The Hong Kong Observatory issued the black rainstorm warning signal at 4.10am and took it down at 9.45am.
The stock exchange, which normally opens at 9.30am, cancelled the morning session and resumed at 1pm.
Black rainstorm is the most severe of Hong Kong's three rain-alert signals.
