Bourse Link Guessing Game Fuels Hong Kong Stock Wagers
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Option wagers on Hong Kong stocks rose to the highest level this year as regulators’ silence over the timing of an exchange link with Shanghai prompted traders to prepare for rising volatility.
The number of outstanding contracts on the Hang Seng Index climbed to 337,540 yesterday, the most since December 2013, while trading of puts and calls on Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing Ltd. was 54 percent higher than this month’s average. The equity gauge sank 0.7 percent after HKEx Chief Executive Officer Charles Li said regulators haven’t signed off on the link and he has no idea when it will begin. Brokers were expecting to make their first cross-border trades this month.