HONG KONG: Hong Kong stocks slipped on Monday, their first trading day of 2022 after marking the worst performance by any major global market the previous year, as fresh fears about the health of China’s property market weighed on investor sentiment.

The Hang Seng index closed down 122.92 points, or 0.53%, at 23,274.75. The Hang Seng China Enterprises index fell 0.58% to 8,188.76. The Hong Kong benchmark lost 14.1% last year, its worst yearly performance since 2011 and the worst performing major global market in 2021, hit by declines in Chinese tech giants as well as fears about the health of China’s property sector.

Mainland Chinese markets were closed for a holiday, and Hong Kong trading volumes were thin. About 734.33 million Hang Seng index shares were traded, roughly 45.6% of the market’s 30-day moving average. “The weak trend of Hong Kong stock market on the first trading day of 2022 is related to the continued unfavourable news in the mainland property industry,” said Kenny Ng, a securities strategist at Everbright Sun Hung Kai Securities.