Ahead of Friday's holiday for the Dragon Boat Festival, the Hong Kong stock market had finished lower in three straight sessions, slumping more than 900 points or 3.8 percent along the way. The Hang Seng Index now sits just above the 23,920-point plateau and it's likely to see another soft start again on Monday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is week after Iran closed down the Strait of Hormuz again over the weekend. The European markets were soft and the U.S. bourses were off and the Asian markets also figure to open in the red.
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June 19, 2026 16:46 ET Major central banks continued to dominate the economic news flow this week too, led by the Federal Reserve, as they announced their latest policy decisions. The Federal Reserve policy session was in focus as it was the first to be led by the new chief Kevin Warsh. In Europe, central banks of the U.K. and Switzerland announced their rate decisions. In Asia, the Bank of Japan drew attention for its policy moves, while data out of China threw some light on the state of the economy.