Articles on Stock markets

The Hang Seng Index (HSI) is a benchmark index that measures the performance of the Hong Kong stock market. It is widely recognized as a leading indicator of the overall health of the Hong Kong economy and is closely watched by investors, analysts, and traders worldwide.

The HSI was first introduced on November 24, 1969, by the Hang Seng Bank, a leading financial institution in Hong Kong. The index was designed to provide a comprehensive and accurate measure of the Hong Kong stock market's performance and has since become the most widely used benchmark for tracking the performance of Hong Kong's equity market.

The HSI is comprised of the 50 largest and most actively traded companies listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKSE). These companies represent a broad cross-section of Hong Kong's economy, including finance, property, telecommunications, and retail sectors.

The HSI's constituents are selected based on their market capitalization, trading volume, and liquidity. The index is calculated on a free-floating, cap-weighted basis, which means that the weight of each constituent in the index is proportional to its market capitalization. This makes the index highly representative of the overall market, as the largest companies have a greater influence on the index's movement.

The HSI is a better barometer for measuring the overall performance of companies from the region than other indices, such as the Shanghai Composite Index or the Nikkei 225 Index. Unlike the Shanghai Composite Index, which is restricted to domestic investors and represents a smaller number of companies, the HSI is open to foreign investors, making it more diverse and reflective of the global economy.

Furthermore, the HSI's free-floating methodology makes it a more accurate reflection of market sentiment than other indices that use fixed weights or price-weighted methodologies. This means that the HSI responds more quickly and accurately to changes in market conditions, making it a more useful tool for investors seeking to gain exposure to the Hong Kong equity market.

In addition to its use as a benchmark index, the HSI is also widely used as the basis for investment products, such as exchange-traded funds (ETFs), index futures, and options. These investment products allow investors to gain exposure to the Hong Kong equity market and the HSI's performance without having to invest directly in individual stocks.

The HSI is also used as a tool for evaluating the performance of fund managers and investment strategies. Many fund managers use the HSI as a benchmark for their portfolios, and investors can compare the performance of their investments against the HSI to gauge their relative performance.

The HSI has experienced significant volatility over the years, reflecting the fluctuations of the Hong Kong equity market and the broader global economy. During the Asian financial crisis in the late 1990s, the index experienced a sharp decline, falling from a high of over 15,000 in 1997 to a low of just over 5,000 in 1998. However, the index has since recovered and has reached new highs, reaching over 36,000 in January 2018.

The Hang Seng Index is a widely used benchmark for tracking the performance of the Hong Kong stock market. It is comprised of the 50 largest and most actively traded companies listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and is calculated on a free-floating, cap-weighted basis. The HSI is open to foreign investors, making it more diverse and reflective of the global economy than other indices, and is widely used as the basis for investment products, such as ETFs and index futures. Despite experiencing significant volatility over the years, the HSI remains an important tool for investors seeking exposure to the Hong Kong equity market and the broader global economy.

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