Super Typhoon Saola: Hong Kong stock trading halted based on the city’s T8 storm warning

“As Saola continues to approach Hong Kong, the weather will deteriorate rapidly later today,” the observatory said in its latest update at 6.45 a.m. local time. “There will be heavy rain and strong winds. The T8 signal will “remain in force for most of the day,” she added.

Markets are closed for the day if signal 8 or higher is issued before the pre-opening session from 9 a.m. to 9:30 a.m., and remains in effect until noon local time.

The Hang Seng Index fell 8.5 percent in August, its worst monthly performance since the 9.4 percent sell-off in February. Growing concerns about economic stagnation in China, and disillusionment with Beijing’s slow trickle-down approach to stimulating outward financial flows.

Hong Kong shoppers scramble to stock up as Typhoon Saola approaches the city

In the past three years, tropical storms Higos, Nangka and Nalgai have also battered the city’s financial markets, prompting top Hong Kong Stock Exchange executives to look for ways to stem losses caused by market disruption.

The Hong Kong Stock Exchange handled HK$115.5 billion (US$14.5 billion) of daily trading volume in securities trading in the first six months of this year, down 16 percent from the same period last year, according to its report released on August 28. The exchange-traded fund market averaged HK$11.7 billion per day in the same period, she added.

Separately, schools and kindergartens in Hong Kong will also be closed on Friday, the first day of the new semester. The neighboring city of Shenzhen in southern Guangdong province will also close schools, postponing the start of the new semester to September 4.