OREANDA-NEWS. Trades on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange opened on Wednesday with a landslide drop in quotes after the end of the lunar New Year's weekend here. The Hang Seng index at the start of operations fell by 848 points (3.03%) - to a value of 27101, according to data on this site.

Market participants are embraced by pessimism amid growing epidemic of pneumonia caused by a new type of coronavirus (2019-nCoV) and its negative impact on the economy. The negative dynamics covers all, without exception, the “blue chips” that make up the index structure.

The worst results are shown by assets related to tourism, transport, trade, and gambling. 6.3% cheaper paper casino operator in Macau Galaxy Entertainment. The shares of carriers are rapidly losing in price amid a reduction in transport links between Hong Kong and mainland China. Cathay Pacific, the largest local airline, worsened its position by 4%. The value of securities of Shun Tak Holding, a ferry operator, fell by 5.7%.

On Tuesday, local administration chief Carrie Lam announced that Hong Kong has completely suspended rail and ferry services from mainland China since Thursday to prevent the threat of coronavirus. We are also talking about halving the number of flights with mainland China, suspending the issuance of permits for Chinese tourists to enter Hong Kong.