Typhoon Kompasu closes Hong Kong markets

Hong Kong suspended schools and the city’s $6.3-trillion stock market cancelled trading on Wednesday as strong winds and rain from typhoon Kompasu lashed the financial hub.

Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing cancelled securities trading, including the Hong Kong-China stock connect and derivatives markets, for all of Wednesday after Kompasu halted after-hours trading the day before. The city raised the storm warning alert to number 8, the third-highest on its scale, from number 3 on Tuesday afternoon.

Signal number 8, which means winds could reach at least 63km/h, will remain in force before 4pm local time, according to the Hong Kong Observatory. Kompasu was about 440km southwest of the city at 12pm and is forecast to move west at about 25km/h towards China’s Hainan Island, it said on its website. The typhoon is expected to make landfall in Hainan as early as this afternoon, according to China Meteorological Administration.

Seven people were injured during the typhoon period, including one person who died later, the government said in a statement on its website, adding that flooding was reported in some areas.

Schools were shut for the second day and government services, including Covid-19 vaccinations, were also suspended, while the Hong Kong Jockey Club dropped its horse racing in Happy Valley on Wednesday night.

Transportation service has also been affected in the city of about 7.4-million with trains running at limited frequencies and Cathay Pacific Airways saying some flights scheduled to arrive in the city Wednesday have been delayed.

Neighbouring Macau has cancelled a town-hall meeting meant for officials to gauge public opinion on a proposed tightening of casino rules in the world’s largest gaming hub because of the typhoon. It scratched two previous gatherings, citing a resurgence of local coronavirus clusters.

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