Hong Kong Market Reopens to Steep Falls

Stocks in Hong Kong dropped 4% early Thursday, catching up with deep selloffs in the region as the market reopened after an extended holiday.

South Korea's Kospi was off 2.6% at 1868.59 while Australia's S&P ASX 200 was choppy and last flat at 4774.90.

The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index of Chinese firms trading in Hong Kong plunged 5.5% to 7615.13, below the key 8000 level.

Markets in Hong Kong were closed Monday to Wednesday for the Lunar New Year holiday. Mainland China markets remain closed until Monday.

Overnight, U.S. Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen hinted that the central bank may delay plans to further raise interest rates. Low interest rates in the U.S. have stoked gains in global shares for years.

Still, the S&P 500 edged lower as investors remained hesitant amid wild swings in markets this year.

Japan's Nikkei Stock Average has shed almost 8% over the past two sessions. Shares in Australia have fallen for four-straight sessions, hitting their lowest levels in more than two years Wednesday and falling more than 20% from their recent peak, defined as entering bear-market territory.

On Thursday, Japanese markets were closed for a national holiday.

Sentiment in the Asian currencies market was better. Most currencies in the region were up, with the Australian dollar trading 0.5% higher against the U.S. dollar, at one local dollar to US$0.7128.

But investors were still seeking havens, with the Japanese yen up 0.7% at ¥ 112.56 at one U.S. dollar, its strongest level since 2014.

The Chinese yuan was little changed against the U.S. dollar in the freely-traded market offshore, but it has strengthened in recent sessions along with the Japanese yen. The offshore yuan was last at 6.5313 to one U.S. dollar, near its strongest levels against the greenback in almost two months.

Write to Chao Deng at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 10, 2016 21:05 ET (02:05 GMT)

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