Hang Seng Heads for Lowest Close Since 2009

By Kana Nishizawa - Oct 3, 2011 9:16 AM GMT+0700

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell, headed for its lowest close since 2009, after U.S. consumer spending slowed amid a drop in incomes, and after oil and metal prices declined.

Techtronic Industries Co. (669), maker of Ryobi power tools and Hoover vacuum cleaners that counts North America as its largest market, sank 5.1 percent. Cnooc Ltd. (883) China’s largest offshore oil producer, declined 5.2 percent and Jiangxi Copper Co., China’s No. 1 producer of the metal by market value, tumbled 7.3 percent. CSR Corp., a mainland maker of railway equipment, tumbled 8.9 percent after a report said China postponed most of its rail projects.

The Hang Seng Index fell 3.8 percent to 16,928.52 as of 9:49 a.m. local time, headed for its lowest close since May 2009. All but one stock retreated in the 46-member gauge, which last week capped its worst quarterly loss since 2001. The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index of Chinese companies listed in Hong Kong declined 4.8 percent to 8,490.50.

Futures on the Hang Seng Index (HSI) slid 2.9 percent to 16,916. The HSI Volatility Index jumped 7.5 percent to 45.98, indicating options traders expect a swing of 13.2 percent in the Hang Seng Index in the next 30 days.

To contact the reporter on this story: Kana Nishizawa in Tokyo at knishizawa5@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: John McCluskey at j.mccluskey@bloomberg.net.