HK stocks little changed after worst quarter since 2015

Bloomberg

Hong Kong’s financial markets showed resilience after a day of violent clashes between protesters and the police brought much of the city’s centre to a standstill.
The benchmark Hang Seng Index was little changed on Wednesday, closing down 0.2 percent on volume that was 30 percent lower than the 30-day average.
Trading in the local dollar was also muted, while interbank borrowing costs fell. Thin liquidity in stocks was compounded by a lack of mainland buyers, with onshore markets and trading links shut for a holiday.
The Hang Seng measure handed investors the world’s worst returns last quarter, losing 8.6 percent for the worst three-month period since 2015. Reeling from a tumbling yuan and the trade war, months of often-violent local unrest have added pressure on earnings for some of Hong Kong’s biggest companies. China and the US are expected to resume trade talks this month.
‘People are cautious about forthcoming negotiations between the US and China,” said Jessie Guo, equity research strategist at China Merchants Securities HK Co.
“The weakness is also a reflection of the protests in Hong Kong — that has impacted investors a lot.”
Tension remained high in the city a day after a protester was shot by police for the first time in almost four months of unrest. Wednesday’s biggest decliners included BOC Hong Kong Holdings Ltd, whose offices were attacked by protesters. MTR Corp, which has seen its stations targeted in the unrest, fell 1.1 percent.
The protests and the police response are taking an increasing toll on the economy, with the city’s retail sales value falling by a record
23 percent year-on-year in August, according to official data released after the market close.
A government spokesman said the result was the worst ever.