Hong Kong Exchange and Clearing (HKEX) has confirmed that all trading sessions today (Monday) in the securities and derivatives markets, including after-hours trading, have been cancelled due to the issuance of typhoon weather warnings.Â
The Typhoon signal 8 warning was issued late last night (GMT, 6.40am local) by the Hong Kong Observatory, delaying market open in its securities market today, including Stock Connect Northbound trading, and its derivatives market. HKEX extreme weather guidelines stipulate that if the weather warning remains in place by 9am then all morning sessions are cancelled, and if still in place by 12pm, all trading sessions are cancelled.
Due to the ongoing weather, the exchange later confirmed that: “No securities clearing and settlement services will be provided for the day. Stock Connect trading is also suspended for the day.”
The warning is related to Typhoon Talim, the first Level 8 storm of the year for Hong Kong, which is forecast to hit Southern China later this afternoon.
“Typhoon holidays” are a well-known occurrence for Hong Kong-based traders – but they could be coming to an end. In his budget speech of February 2023, Hong Kong Financial Secretary Paul Chan said he would explore “arrangements for maintaining operation for the market under inclement weathers”.
Tightened financial conditions and weaker global growth saw a correction in the Hong Kong stock market over 2022, and trading activities shrank. However, Q1 2023 saw the exchange rebound strongly to report the group’s second best ever quarterly revenue, up 19% year-on-year to HK$5.5bn. Recent developments include the launch of the new Hong Kong Investor Identification Regime and the new Specialist Technology Company listing regime in March, along with a strong IPO pipeline (over 90 applications in the first quarter) and a number of new product launches including two new ESG ETFs and a bitcoin futures ETF. In June this year, HKEX agreed a partnership with the Beijing Stock Exchange to support cross-listings and further cement its trading relationship with Mainland China. As of June 2023, mainland Chinese companies accounted for 76.6% of HKEX total market cap and 87.1% of equity turnover.
HKEX average daily turnover for the first six months of 2023 was HK$115.5 billion. However, in Q1 the average daily trading of equity products on the exchange was down 9% compared to Q1 2022.
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