A May to forget for the Hang Seng

The Hang Seng Index ended its worst May in 14 years, plunging 11.7%, and dropping for four straight weeks, the longest since November 2011.

Its May losses were its worst for that month since 1998 and the worst monthly performance since last September when it nosedived 14% on both occasions.

Analysts blamed a rapidly worsening Eurozone crisis and fears about China's economic slowdown becoming worse than expected for the Hang Seng’s mammoth woes. The volatile market conditions threaten to wipe out the Hang Seng Index's gains for the entire year.

Analysts said markets are not yet in panic mode but sentiment is weak. They report seeing reduced interest in the equity markets from clients.

On May 31, the Hang Seng briefly fell into negative territory before cutting losses on the day to end 0.3% down.

Hong Kong’s retail sales have also been affected by China’s slowdown. According to the Hong Kong government, sales rose 11.4% in April from a year earlier, the smallest gain since October 2009.