HONG KONG: Hong Kong shares ended 1.9% lower on Wednesday, just shy of entering a bear market territory, hit by disappointing Chinese factory data and simmering US-China disputes, which also dragged the yuan to its lowest levels since November.

All major Hong Kong indexes tumbled, following an overnight sell-off in US-listed China stocks, while investors fretted the world’s second-largest economy could be at risk of a double-dip recession after a plunge in the manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) to a five-month low.

The Hang Seng Index (HSI) slumped nearly 3% before closing down 1.94%, taking declines from a Jan. 27 closing high to nearly 20%. If it has closed down 20%, it would confirm the HSI has been in a bear market.

“The sentiment in the financial market is quite bearish. It is not clear how the government interprets the current economic condition. There is no sign of imminent policy response,” said Zhiwei Zhang, chief economist at Pinpoint Asset Management.

As a result of lack of policy stimulus and in the context of an outperforming US market, net exposure to China has been trended down, said Pierre Hoebrechts, head of macro research at East Eagle Asset Management.

“This is really a good representation of negative feedback loop effect.” The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index fell 1.92%, while Hong Kong-listed tech giants and major financial institutions led declines, plummeting 2% and 1.6%, respectively.

The yuan slid to a six-month low of 7.1090 per dollar and is down more than 2.6% this month.

Mainland stocks also fell,with the blue-chip CSI 300 Index dropping 1.02%, while the Shanghai Composite dipped 0.61%.

Nomura chief economist Ting Lu warned of strong headwinds from a structural property slump, a deepening global manufacturing downturn and worsening geopolitical tensions will continue to be a drag on the economic recovery.