The Hang Seng Index retreated 0.7 per cent to 16,345.89 on Thursday, near the lowest since mid-November last year. The Tech Index also dropped 0.7 per cent and the Shanghai Composite Index declined 0.1 per cent.

China Life Insurance tumbled 1 per cent to HK$10.10 after Moody’s lowered its outlook to negative to reflect China’s slowdown risks. China Merchants Bank tumbled 2.6 per cent to HK$25.85. Other lenders including ICBC and Construction Bank erased a drop of nearly 1 per cent.

Moody’s also lowerd Hong Kong’s outlook on Thursday, a day after lowering China’s A1 rating outlook to negative. Historically, about one-third of bond issuers suffered rating cuts within 18 months after their outlook turned negative, Moody’s said.

In Hong Kong, four firms get US$2.6 billion support to stem stocks rout

“China’s economy is still enduring a correction and it seems growth is unlikely to reaccelerate any time soon,” said Wu Kan, an analyst at Soochow Securities in Shanghai. “Sentiment is weak” going into the year-end, he added.

The Hang Seng Index has dropped 17 per cent this year, the worst performer among the world’s key benchmarks. The sell-offs have led to stock buy-back pledges from Meituan, WuXi Biologics and Swire Pacific to help stem the rot.

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Chinese President Xi Jinping visits Shanghai in first post-Covid trip

Chinese President Xi Jinping visits Shanghai in first post-Covid trip

WuXi Biologics failed to sustain a rebound, losing 2.4 per cent to HK$29.95. Alibaba Group slid 0.6 per cent to HK$69.70 and Tencent lost 1.2 per cent to HK$307.80. PetroChina fell 2.2 per cent to HK$4.86 and CNOOC sank 2.7 per cent to HK$12.46 as crude oil futures dropped to a five-month low on demand concerns.

Other major Asian markets all fell. Japan’s Nikkei 225 slipped 1.8 per cent, while South Korea’s Kospi and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 both lost 0.1 per cent.