Hong Kong property stocks suffered their biggest selloff in seven months, hit by disappointing earnings at the city’s top builder and a major bank’s reported plan to raise mortgage rates.
The Hang Seng Index’s property sub-gauge dropped as much as 4.5%, the most since Feb. 13. Sun Hung Kai Properties Ltd., Hong Kong’s biggest developer, led the declines by plunging nearly 13% to its lowest intraday level since 2009.
The selling came after Sun Hung Kai recorded a worse-than-expected 17% drop in full-year profit, another example of a local real estate market pressured by rising interest rates and a supply glut. HSBC Holdings Plc’s reported plan to increase mortgage rates also has exacerbated concerns about a potential price war among local developers.
Read the full story on Bloomberg here.