Hong Kong stocks hit over 3-year closing low on coronavirus worries

Hong Kong stocks slumped on Wednesday to their lowest close in more than three years, joining a sell-off in other Asian markets as mounting worries over the rapid spread of the coronavirus outbreak outside China dashed risk sentiment.

** The Hang Seng index fell 4.2% to 22,291.82, its lowest close since January 2017, while the China Enterprises Index lost 4.5% to 8,800.62. ** Sell-off was across the board. The sub-index of the Hang Seng tracking energy shares dipped 6.5%, the IT sector declined 5.18%, the financial sector ended 3.13% lower and the property sector lost 5.38%.

** Around the region, MSCI's Asia ex-Japan stock index was weaker by 3.95%, while Japan's Nikkei index closed down 1.68%. ** Downgrade risk to the earnings outlook for Hong Kong companies is increasing, which could weigh on the room for a rebound in the Hang Seng index, brokerage Cinda International said in the report.

** The biggest loser was Sunny Optical Technology Group Co Ltd, which fell 11.92%. ** China's main Shanghai Composite index closed down 1.83% at 2,728.76, while the blue-chip CSI300 index ended down 1.98%.

** The yuan was quoted at 7.025 per U.S. dollar at 08:33 GMT, 0.27% weaker than the previous close of 7.006. ** At close, China's A-shares were trading at a premium of 34.57% over Hong Kong-listed H-shares.