Hong Kong stocks fall as oil once again trades over US$100
Brent crude rises as much as 10.5 per cent to US$101.6 a barrel even after Western nations take steps to mitigate oil prices
Hong Kong stocks fell on Thursday as the Middle East conflict showed no signs of ending and oil prices once again crossed US$100 a barrel.
The Hang Seng Index closed 0.7 per cent lower at 25,716.76. The Hang Seng Tech Index fell 0.5 per cent. On the mainland, the CSI 300 Index eased 0.4 per cent and the Shanghai Composite Index shed 0.1 per cent.
“Markets are currently pricing low-probability left-tail outcomes, driven by uncertainty around the length and escalation path of the US-Israel war on Iran,” said Ray Sharma-Ong, deputy global head of multi-asset bespoke solutions at Aberdeen Investments. “This has resulted in an indiscriminate sell-off across global markets.”
Iraq announced the closure of oil ports after two tankers were attacked, outweighing the impact of a record release of emergency oil reserves by wealthy nations. Oil prices traded over US$100 a barrel again after retreating earlier in the week.
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