HONG KONG: Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index suffered a loss of 1.2% in early trading, while the Shanghai Composite Index dropped down 0.7%.
The Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing Ltd., the biggest bourse operator by market value, slumped 3.4%, after the stock exchange said Sunday that a trading connection with Shanghai still hadn’t received regulatory approval. Investors previously expected the program to launch before the end of October.
No new launch date has been set, although the exchange said the technology and infrastructure for the program is in place. Shares of Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing gained 33% since the program was first announced in mid-April. In the same period, the Hang Seng lost 1.3% while the Shanghai Composite Index gained 8.1% as of last Friday’s close.
Investors in Hong Kong were also reacting to the latest in the city’s pro-democracy protests, which appears to be a possible reason why the trading program has been delayed. Over the weekend, leaders of the movement canceled a vote that was supposed to galvanize further support for their efforts, a sign of the challenges they face uniting disparate groups.
