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Deb Price

Good day, traders, and welcome to a fresh week.
Stocks fell in Hong Kong as anti-government violence escalated, with at least one protester shot and a man set on fire in a dispute. China stocks fell, too, on worries about inflation and the economic slowdown there.
Catch up on the day below.
And if you'd like to get the Live Stocks Blog each morning, shoot me a message at deb.price@scmp.com and I'll add you to the list.
-- Deb Price in Hong Kong 
 


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Will China’s fiscal bazooka fire as forcefully as investors hope?

Stocks

Stocks Blog: Hang Seng suffers worst tumble in 3 months as protester is shot, man is set on fire

At least one protester was shot Monday morning, amid demonstrations that disrupted the MTR subway and traffic. Photo: Nora Tam

Alibaba's annual Singles' Day started off with strong sales. Above, the countdown celebration for 2019 was broadcast live from the Shanghai Mercedes-Benz Arena. Photo: Handout

Business

Markets

MTR shares drop as petrol bombs thrown into train with passengers
Property stocks were big losers on Hang Seng as fears mount about rents


“China and Hong Kong equity markets were perhaps lucky to have fallen only this far,” said Brock Silvers, managing director of Adamas Asset Management in Hong Kong.


China markets

Tencent

Alibaba

Hang Seng Index

Hong Kong protests

Live

Here’s what we are watching this morning:
Friday US markets/ What futures foretell
--The S&P 500 climbed ahead 0.26 per cent, the Nasdaq rose 0.48 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average inched up 0.02 per cent. 
-- Hong Kong futures slipped 0.28 per cent, while the FTSE China A50 futures fell 0.31 per cent
IPO debuts: Bafang Electric Suzhou(603489 CH), China Tianbao Group Development (1427 HK) 
Economic statistics/Central Bank action: 
China October Foreign Direct Investment 
Earnings: No major earnings. Tencent to report Wednesday.   


Morning guidance 

Apple AirPods’ runaway popularity is boosting wireless headset and part makers in China – and investors should be listening, analysts say.
  The wireless earphones are Apple’s second fastest selling product of all time, only behind the iPhone. Now its more expensive AirPods Pro – which include such features as noise cancellation – is a hot seller, too. The stampede into so-called true wireless stereo (TWS) earbuds is just in its early stage, analysts say, as consumers ditch their old wires for the cooler look and improved sound.  “True wireless stereo will become the next big thing in consumer electronics,” Zhongtai Securities analysts wrote in a new report. It will become the next product that could “create a growth miracle” after the smartphones, which have experienced what seems like a topping-out in output after years of rapid growth.
Chinese companies like Luxshare Precision Industry, the main assembler of AirPods – are benefiting. It’s up more than 200 per cent this year.
Meanwhile, GoerTek, which like Luxshare supplies to both Apple and Huawei, is up 193 per cent this year, bringing good fortune to investors like Eric Fei, a 27-year-old part-time stock trader living in northern China’s Tianjin city.
Here’s how analysts rate some of the wireless headset and parts makers in China:

 
Here’s the full story for investors by stocks reporter Yujing Liu.   


Apple AirPods craze spreads to China

Chinese consumers collectively spent US$10 billion in just under 30 minutes at Alibaba’s Singles’ Day shopping extravaganza, scooping up everything from consumer electronics to luxury items and even cars. The figure is almost one-third of last year’s final tally of US$30.8 billion.
Alibaba’s Singles’ Day shopping festival, which falls on November 11 every year, is the world’s largest of its kind. The festival will be closely watched this year as a barometer for consumer sentiment 16 months into a US-China trade war and amid a slowdown in the Chinese economy.
While the company’s e-commerce marketplaces Tmall and Taobao are traditionally the mainstays of the annual shopping extravaganza, this year’s festival will also include business-to-business e-commerce platforms like AliExpress as well as Lazada, Alibaba’s Southeast Asian e-commerce subsidiary, as the company taps international consumers.
Alibaba Group Holding is the parent company of the South China Morning Post.
Read full story by tech reporter Zen Soo here.    


Alibaba’s Singles’ Day nets US$10 billion in first half hour

Tencent (700 HK), Hong Kong’s social media and gaming giant, had its rating bumped up to buy from neutral by Sinolink Securities, with a new 12-month target price of HK$398.50 from HK$348.
Of analysts tracked by Bloomberg, 50 rate it a buy, seven a hold and none a sell, with a price target of HK$413.05.
It fell 1.9 per cent Friday to HK$327.20. It reports its third quarter earnings on Wednesday.
Here’s how it has done this year.
 

-- Deb Price 


Chart: Tencent upgraded to ‘buy’ at Sinolink Securities 

The Hang Seng Index has been on a tear since its recent low on August 13 of 25,302.28. It fell 0.7 per cent Friday to  27,651.14.
But its relative strength indicator is warning it may be overbought, which is signaled by a level of 70 or above. On  Thursday, its reading was 72. That slipped back 66.13 on Friday. 
 

-- Deb Price 


Is Hang Seng ready for a pullback?

The Hang Seng tumbled in early trading, falling 1.6 per cent to 27,219.61.
Insurer and financial services provider AIA (1299 HK) dropped 2.1 per cent to HK$80.60 
HSBC (5 HK) fell 0.9 per cent to HK$59.50. 
Tencent (700 HK) slipped 0.1 per cent to HK$326.80.
Of stocks in the spotlight, CK Life Sciences (775 HK) is down 1 per cent to 99 HK cents, on track for a second day of losses after running up a jaw-dropping gain of more than 200 per cent over two days last week on a report of progress in clinical trials of its vaccine to treat skin cancer.
-- Deb Price      


Hang Seng tumbles, with falls by three heavyweights -- AIA, HSBC, Tencent

China Tianbao Group Development (1427 HK) started trading on the main board of Hong Kong Stock Exchange today.
The share price was flat, unchanged from the offering price of HK$ 2.5. It then went up to HK$2.52.
The shares were undersold — the Hong Kong offer shares were undersubscribed by 0.79 times and the international offer shares were undersubscribed by 0.51 times.
The property development and construction company focuses its business in the emerging neighboring cities of Beijing. The Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei economic integration plan has been part of China’s national strategy since 2015.
In 2017, the company received the Premium Grade Certificate in 2017, a high qualification for building construction contractors. Up to August 31, the company had 20 property projects, of which 18 were residential properties.
 
China Tianbao Group Development Company Limited (1427 HK) started trading on the main board of Hong Kong Stock Exchange today. @SCMPNews @scmpbusiness #ipo pic.twitter.com/VXFiBdgzJy
  — Snow Xia (@SnowXia05) November 11, 2019
-- Snow Xia 


China Tianbao Group Development has slow start in first day on Hong Kong main board 

Shares of Bafang Electric Suzhou (603489 CH), a manufacturer of electric bicycle driving components, hit the daily ceiling of 44 per cent after making its trading debut in the morning.
The only IPO debutant on the mainland stock exchanges today saw its shares surge to 62.55 yuan just minutes after trading opened.
IPO stocks on the mainland’s main boards are subject to a 44 per cent first-day trading cap.
The company produces motors, controllers, sensors, and other related products for electric bikes.
-- Daniel Ren


Bafang Electric hits daily 44 per cent on trading debut

Chinese consumers collectively spent 158.31 billion yuan (US$22.63 billion) in the first nine hours of Alibaba’s Singles’ Day shopping extravaganza, scooping up everything from consumer electronics to luxury items and even cars. The figure is two thirds of last year's final tally of US$30.8 billion, tech reporter Zen Soo reports. 




Live: Watch Alibaba’s Singles’ Day sales 

The Shanghai Composite Index fell about 1 per cent to 2,935, as President Donald Trump said he hasn’t agreed to tariff rollbacks, as China said last week.
The CSI 300 of large cap stocks traded in Shanghai and Shenzhen fell 0.86 per cent to 3,938.89.
Wireless headset-related stocks continued to gain, rising 1.3 per cent, according to a gauge that tracks 28 of them. Digital currency-linked stocks fell 2.3 per cent, according to a gauge tracking 35 related stocks.
Here’s how some of the most heavily traded stocks on the Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect are doing in early trading.
-- Jiangsu Hengrui Medicine (600276 CH)  fell 1.5 per cent to 89.92 yuan
-- Kweichow Moutai (600519 CH) slipped 0.2 per cent to 1,202.77 yuan
-- Ping An Insurance (601318 CH)  fell 1 per cent to 88.21 yuan
Also of note: 
-- Luxshare Precision Industry (002475 CH), the main assembler of  AirPods – rose 0.4 per cent gain to 34.60 yuan  
-- Deb Price    


Shanghai falls, with Trump trade remarks weighing on sentiment

The shooting of a protester this morning by Hong Kong police is weighing on trading sentiment, says Alan Li, portfolio manager at Atta Capital. 
Protesters caused major thoroughfares to be blocked and MTR services suspended. 
The shooting follows the death last week of a Hong Kong University of Science and Technology student, who fell from a car park near where police had fired tear gas against protesters. 
The Hang Seng Index is down 1.7 per cent, at 27,178.76.
-- Deb Price 
 
 
   


Shooting of protester weighing on trader sentiment in falling Hong Kong market

The Hang Seng Index tumbled 2 per cent to 27,118.38, putting it on track for its worst fall in three months.
It fell 2.1 per cent on August 13.
-- Deb Price 


Hang Seng on track for worst fall in 3 months

Chinese mobile gaming giant CMGE (302 HK) took a hard fall in early trading, tumbling 5.8 per cent to HK$3.24.
The stock first started trading in Hong Kong on October 31, with only a small gain of 2.1 per cent. But then it caught on, with the following two days seeing gains of 20.4 per cent and 22.4 per cent. Since then, it has had two falls above 9 per cent. 
As of Friday’s close, it was ahead by more than 20 per cent.
 

-- Deb Price  


Chinese gamer CMGE takes hard fall in early trading 

The Hang Seng Index has fallen 2.2 per cent to 27,034.33 in the morning session, after at least one protester was shot on Monday morning as demonstrators disrupted traffic and the MTR subway line.
On August 5, the Hang Seng fell 2.85 per cent.
-- Deb Price  


Hang Seng losses deepen, on track for worst fall since August 5

Property stocks are the biggest percentage losers on the Hang Seng Index this morning.
Sun Hung Kai Property (16 HK) fell 4.2 per cent to HK$112.10, Wharf Real Estate Investment (1997 HK) dropped nearly 4 per cent to HK$44.60, New World Development (17 HK) tumbled 4.2 per cent to HK$11.02, while Swire Pacific (19 HK) fell 4 per cent HK$73.55.
The Hang Seng Index was last down 2.2 per cent at 27,053.77.
-- Peggy Sito and Deb Price    


Property stocks top losers on Hang Seng

The shooting of a least one protester early this morning prompted investors to take money out of the market to pocket recent gains, said Kevin Leung, executive director of investment strategy at Hong Kong-based brokerage Haitong International.
“I don’t think the event (shooting) today changed market sentiment fundamentally,” he said.
“Is it going to be a big downturn after what happened today? I don’t think so. I think it’s a trigger of a minor-scale profit taking, after the market has risen quite a lot over the past few weeks.”
The Hang Seng Index has gained 8 per cent over the past month to close at 27,651.14 points on Friday.
The recent strength is a result of market optimism over a US-China partial trade deal, as well as the fact that the protest situation in Hong Kong had not changed significantly, Leung said.
-- Yujing Liu 
 


Shooting of at least one protester triggers profit taking in Hong Kong stock market, says analyst Kevin Leung

Apple supplier Suzhou Dongshan Precision Manufacturing (002384 CH) fell 6.44 per cent to 19.46 yuan.
Economic Daily News reported that due to quality issues, Apple transferred some of the orders to two Tawainese companies, Zhen Ding Technology Holding and Flexium Interconnect. 
Some Chinese media called Suzhou Dongshan, which said operations remained normal and they were not aware of the situation.
Printed circuit boards make up over half of Suzhou Dongshan’s profits.
-- Deb Price and Yujing Yiu     


Apple supplier Suzhou Dongshan Precision Manufacturing tumbles

The Hang Seng Index is one track for its worst tumble in three months due to a key technical indicator warning it is overbought, and worries about the morning shooting of at least one protester and China inflation, said Kenny Wen, wealth management strategist at Everbright Sun Hung Kai.
“We expect Chinese (Consumer Price Index) will rise to 4 or even 5 per cent before Chinese New Year,” said Wen. Chinese New Year will begin on January 25 and end on January 27 in 2020, the year of the rat.
The relative strength index for the Hang Seng hit 72 on Thursday, putting it in overbought territory, which is signalled by a reading of 70 or above. It pulled back some on Friday, but still remained high.
A medical source said the protester who was shot is 21 years old and remains in critical condition, the South China Morning Post reports. (Keep up with the latest on the morning shooting and protests on another SCMP Live blog.) 
The Hang Seng ended the morning session with a 2.1 per cent decline, at 27,070.55. On August 5, the Hang Seng fell 2.85 per cent.
-- Deb Price 


Hang Seng weighed down by worries about China inflation, shooting of protester, says analyst Kenny Wen

The Shanghai Composite Index fell 1.2 per cent to 2,928 in the morning session, led down by real estate and communication services sectors.
The three heavyweights on the index all suffered morning losses.
The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (601398 CH) fell 1.4 per cent to 5.79 yuan, Kweichow Moutai (600519 CH) dropped 0.4 per cent to 1,200.11 yuan, and the Agricultural Bank of China (601288 CH) declined 1.4 per cent to 3.56 yuan.
Wireless headset makers gained 0.4 per  cent, while blockchain stocks fell 1.4 per cent, according to gauges by data provider Xuangubao. 
-- Deb Price    


Shanghai Composite will start afternoon with losses

Tencent (700 HK) fell 0.6 per cent to HK$325.40 after the lunch break, as Credit Suisse lowered its 12-month price target on the Chinese Internet giant to HK$453 from HK$469 while maintaining its “outperform” rating.
Tencent reports its third quarter results on Wednesday.
-- Deb Price    


Tencent’s price target lowered by Credit Suisse, which maintains ‘outperform’ rating

CK Life Sciences (775 HK) is bucking the downward trend of Hong Kong stocks, jumping 5 per cent to HK$1.05 in early afternoon trading.
It shot up more than 200 per cent over two days last week after reporting progress in clinical trials of its vaccine to treat skin cancer.
-- Deb Price    


CK Life Sciences bucks trend, gains 5 per cent

The Shenzhen Composite Index is on track for its biggest loss in 10 weeks.
It is down 1.8 per cent at 1,619.75. Its most recent fall bigger than that was on August 30, when it fell 2.5 per cent.
The benchmark tracks the performance of all the A-shares and B-shares listed on Shenzhen Stock Exchange. 
Its three heavyweights all had losses in afternoon trading. 
Liquor maker Wuliangye Yibin (000858 CH) lost 1.4 per cent to 132.67 yuan. Home appliance maker Midea Group (000333 CH) dropped 3.9 per cent to 57.32 yuan, while rival Gree Electric (000651 CH) fell nearly 4 per cent to 61.09.
The benchmark is still ahead about 28 per cent for the year.
 

-- Deb Price     


Shenzhen Composite Index on track for biggest loss in 10 weeks

The Hang Seng Index has fallen 2.64 per cent to 26,921.82, after violence today that included at least one protester being shot.
Here are some percentage drops to keep in mind:
On August 5, the benchmark dropped 2.85 per cent.
On May 6, it dropped 2.9 per cent.
On October 11, 2018, it fell 3.54 per cent. 
On October 23, 2018, it fell 3.08 per cent.
 

-- Deb Price     


Hang Seng on track for big daily fall

A doubling of pork prices pushed China’s consumer prices to a nearly eight year high in October, as Beijing’s domestic challenges intensified amid the slowing of the economy and the trade war with the United States.
China’s consumer prices rose to 3.8 per cent last month, the highest since January 2012, according to government data released on Saturday. The gain was larger than the rise to 3.4 per cent expected in a Bloomberg survey of analysts and up from 3.0 per cent in September.
The October gain was driven largely by spiralling pork prices, which rose 101.3 per cent from a year earlier, as the effects of the African swine fever crisis ravaging the country’s pig population are increasingly being felt by Chinese consumers. With African swine fever predicted to wipe out half of China’s pig population by the end of this year, the upward impact on consumer prices is expected to increase in the months ahead.
Adding to Beijing’s woes, the price of poultry soared 66.8 per cent in October, as increased demand for chicken and other poultry products as a substitute for pork pushed up those prices.
But absent meat, price pressures in the economy are tame, at least for now. Consumer prices for items other than food actually fell to only 0.9 per cent in October, down from 1.0 per cent the month before.
“The inflation jump remains the pork story, a combination of [African swine fever] and the rising pork price cycle. The two-year leading indicator, sow stock, is at an historical low,” said Dan Wang, an analyst at The Economist Intelligence Unit. “With no cure and no vaccination, we expect inflation to stay above 3 per cent in at least the coming two years. Markets have yet to grasp that high inflation will be a persistent, rather than temporary, phenomena,” she said.
Read full story by Cissy Zhou here. 


ICYMI: China consumer prices jump to near 8-year high

MTR (66 HK) has fallen 2.9 per cent to HK$43.75, amid disruptions and a violent act at a subway station. 
An MTR spokesman said a protester threw two petrol bombs inside a train at Kwai Fong station at 8 am carrying passengers. Doors of the train, headed to Central, were opened and staff used fire extinguishers to put the fire out and got the passengers out of the train. 
Subway service on some lines was delayed or suspended. 
-- Deb Price    


MTR shares drop amid disruptions, petrol bombs thrown into train 

An unidentified spokesperson of the Hong Kong government has denied speculation that the local authorities would invoke emergency ordinance to halt trading in the stock market, suspend schools or issue a stop-work order, according to a report on RTHK, the local broadcaster.
-- Eugene Tang 


Hong Kong trading will not be suspended, government spokesperson says

China stocks fell after a doubling of pork prices pushed the country’s consumer prices to a nearly eight year high, as the economy slows and the US-China trade war has yet to be resolved.
The Shanghai Composite Index dropped 1.8 per cent to 2,910. That was its worst fall since July 8 when it fell 2.58 per cent. 
Nine times more stocks lost than gained, with falls in all sectors but led by real estate, communication services, materials and health care.
The three heavyweights on the index all closed with losses.
The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (601398 CH) fell 1.7 per cent to 5.77 yuan, Kweichow Moutai (600519 CH) dropped 0.5 per cent to 1,199 yuan, and the Agricultural Bank of China (601288 CH) declined 1.7 per cent to 3.55 yuan.
The Shenzhen Composite Index fell 2.26 per cent to 1,611.45. That was its worst fall since September 26, when it fell 2.51 per cent.
Similar to Shanghai, nine times more stocks ended with losses than with gains. 
Gauges tracking sectors saw broad losses, with liquor stocks down 1 per cent, blockchain-linked stock falling 2 per cent and wireless headset makers slipping 0.3 per cent.
Luxshare Precision Industry (002475 CH), the main assembler of  AirPods – fell 0.8 per cent gain to 34.18 yuan  
Among stocks heavily traded by northbound traders:
-- Jiangsu Hengrui Medicine (600276 CH)  fell 2.65 per cent to 88.88 yuan
-- Ping An Insurance (601318 CH)  fell 1 per cent to 88.21 yuan
-- Deb Price    


China stocks post broad falls on inflation worries, trade anxiety

“China and Hong Kong equity markets were perhaps lucky to have fallen only this far,” said Brock Silvers, managing director of Adamas Asset Management in Hong Kong.
“Investors are realizing that a trade deal may not be as close as thought. China’s factories just reported lower prices for the fourth consecutive month as the slowdown deepens.  And social instability in Hong Kong has reached a new peak today with multiple shootings and violence,” he said. 
“Even Alibaba’s astounding 11/11 couldn’t reverse sentiment, as revenues remain somewhat inflated and perhaps less useful as a barometer of consumer health,” he said.
-- Deb Price    


Falls could have been even worse, says analyst Brock Silvers

The Hang Seng Index fell the most in three months, as anti-government protest violence turned into almost unbelievable scenes, including a man set on fire in a dispute, at least one protester shot, and petrol bombs thrown in a train car with passengers.
The Hang Seng closed down 2.6 per cent at 26,926.55. That was its biggest daily percentage fall since August 5, when it dropped 2.85 per cent.
MTR (66 HK) fell 3.1 per cent to HK$43,65 as the city’s subway owner and operator continues to see its shares hammered amid violence.
Index heavyweights fell.
Insurer and financial services provider AIA (1299 HK) tumbled 3.4 per cent to HK$79.60, HSBC (5 HK) fell 0.9 per cent to HK$59, while Tencent (700 HK), the Chinese Internet giant that reports thrid quarter results on Wednesday, lost 1.3 per cent to HK$323.
Property stocks were big losers.
Sun Hung Kai Property (16 HK) fell 4.3 per cent to HK$112, Wharf Real Estate Investment (1997 HK) dropped 4.5 per cent to HK$44.35, New World Development (17 HK) tumbled 4.2 per cent to HK$11.02, while Swire Pacific (19 HK) fell 5.2 per cent HK$72.65.
“Hong Kong’s escalating protests could pose serious threats to public safety and turn up the risks to developers’ earnings with possible double-digit rental declines for both prime office and retail rents in 2020,” Bloomberg Intelligence analysts wrote in a new note. 
“Massive protests with tear gas fired by the police during lunchtime in the Central district could prompt some multinational tenants to spread their office space across Hong Kong, or even relocate portions of their workforces elsewhere in the Asia-Pacific region. Tenants’ sales at prime shopping malls are likely to slump in 4Q given the increased number of violent attacks on retailers in various districts. The slump in visitor arrivals from mainland China following weeks of unrest will continue to crush hotel occupancy rates and retail leasing in major tourist districts,” the analysts wrote.
Of the Hang Seng’s 50 constituent members, only one -- CSPC Pharmaceutical Group (1093 HK) -- closed with gains. It rose 0.5 per cent to HK$21.05.
Among other stocks, CK Life Sciences (775 HK) was among the day’s winners, picking up 2 per cent to HK$1.02 after sliding Friday following two days of more than 200 per cent gains on news of progress in clinical trials of its skin cancer vaccine.
Beigene (6160 HK) rose 1.8 per cent to HK$116.60.  American biotech major Amgen agreed to buy BeiGene shares equivalent to a 20.5 per cent stake for US$2.7 billion, BeiGene said in an exchange filing on October 31. 
 
Footage shows a man being torched in a dispute at a footbridge in Ma On Shan. He was taken to Prince of Wales Hospital in Sha Tin for medical treatment pic.twitter.com/wofnDcyrFh
  — SCMP Hong Kong (@SCMPHongKong) November 11, 2019
-- Deb Price    


Hang Seng takes worst fall in three months as anti-government protests escalate 

The Hong Kong market may continue to fall due to skepticism about a US-China trade deal, social unrest in Hong Kong, and a decline in market liquidity related to an anticipated but unconfirmed Alibaba initial public offering, said Louis Tse Ming-kwong, managing director of VC Asset Management. (Alibaba owns the South China Morning Post.)
The Hang Seng fell 2.62 per cent to 26,926.55 as Hong Kong protests escalated today and investors were disappointed about the lack of clear progress in the US-China trade negotiations. 
“Technically, it is below the 250-day moving average, which is 27,422. So there’s plenty of chances of going down further,” said Tse.
One of the major reasons for this drop is related to the US-China trade war, said Tse.
President Donald Trump said there hasn’t been an agreement to roll back additional tariffs, contradicting a spokesman of China’s Ministry of Commerce.
“The market is still a bit skeptical about whether in the near-term there will be a US-China trade deal to be signed,” said Tse.
On the escalation in violence by hard-core protesters in Hong Kong, Tse said, “It’s taking its toll today obviously. I think it’s getting worse.”
Tse added, that the big turnover in Hong Kong is because people took money out to invest in the hoped-for Alibaba IPO. Alibaba has declined to comment on the IPO speculation. 
“They [Alibaba] are found to take some liquidity out of the market. So I think, one of the reasons for the turnover getting bigger is because people might take liquidity from the market and prepare for the IPO.”
Another reason that the Hong Kong and Chinese markets fell today is because of the rise in China’s Consumers Price Index, which jumped 3.8 per cent in October, driven by surging pork prices, Tse noted. China stocks make up more than 40 per cent of the Hang Seng benchmark.
“It’s kind of inflation in a way, but there’s no growth. So they [investors ]worry about China’s economy,” said Tse.
— Snow Xia


Hong Kong market may continue to fall says analyst Louis Tse

The Hong Kong government has said there are no plans to suspend stock market trading or impose restrictions on cash withdrawals from banks, quelling rumours circulating on social media that an emergency law would be invoked amid the escalating violence.
“The public should not believe in such kind of rumours as they may create unnecessary chaos or panic,” the government said in a Chinese-language statement on its website in the afternoon.
The rumours, circulating widely today via online platforms like WhatsApp, said there were plans to stop trading on the Hong Kong stock exchange on Tuesday and Wednesday, while all offices and schools would also be closed because of the social unrest. 
The rumour gathered momentum after a police officer shot a protester as clashes erupted between protesters and police across the city. 
The unrest follows the death last Friday of Hong Kong University of Science and Technology student Chow Tsz-lok, days after he fell in a car park near a police dispersal operation in Tseung Kwan O, where tear gas had been fired.
A combination of weak economic data from China, uncertainty over the US-China trade war and violence weighed on the benchmark Hang Seng Index, which fell 2.6 per cent.
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority also denied rumours that the government might restrict cash withdrawals to keep the Hong Kong dollar stable. 
“In response to rumours that the HKMA would cap daily cash withdrawal from banks, the HKMA reiterates that the message is totally fake and unfounded. The Hong Kong banking system is robust and sound, with ample liquidity to meet the needs of the public,” the city’s de facto central bank said in a statement on its website. 
The protests, however, saw 15 major banks, including Standard Chartered, Bank of East Asia, Hang Seng Bank and those from the mainland such as China Citic Bank and ICBC Asia closing scores of branches, according to the Hong Kong Association of Banks. 
-- Enoch Yiu 
