(Bloomberg) -- Trading in Hong Kong’s $5.9 trillion stock market looked unlikely on Tuesday as a tropical storm prompted authorities to shutter businesses and close schools.
The Hong Kong Observatory raised its storm signal to No. 8, the third-highest on its scale, at 5:40 a.m. and said it expects the signal to be in force for “most of the day.” Winds with mean speeds of 63 km (39 miles) per hour or more are expected from the northeast quarter, it said.
Most businesses close and public transport becomes limited when No. 8 signal or above is in place. Under Hong Kong stock exchange rules, trading will be abandoned for the day if the signal isn’t lowered to 3 or below before noon. A typhoon in August also disrupted stock trading in the city, with the market opening at 1:30 p.m.
Chinese President Xi Jinping is set to visit Shenzhen, neighboring Hong Kong, this week. He is scheduled to deliver an address Wednesday and meet the leaders of Hong Kong and Macau, the official Xinhua News Agency said Monday.
At 8 a.m., Nangka was centered about 450km south-southwest of Hong Kong and is forecast to move west or west-northwest at about 22km per hour towards the vicinity of Hainan Island and intensify gradually, the Observatory said on its website.
In 2018, the city raised the maximum No. 10 signal when Typhoon Mangkhut left the city with roads blocked, buildings damaged and low-lying areas flooded.
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