The Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEx), the firm that runs Hong Kong's stock exchange, said Monday that it noted the price of HSBC shares continued to fall during the closing auction session, following a significant drop that had taken place during the continuous trading session.

In a statement, the HKEx says that it will continue to monitor the market activity closely and will report any irregularities it may observe to the Securities and Futures Commission.

Trading turnover of the securities market in the closing auction session totaled HK$1.25 billion (US$161 million) representing approximately 3.5 percent of the total trading turnover on Monday.

HSBC Holdings was the most actively traded security during the session. Its shares' turnover amounted to HK$391.54 million , or 8.3 percent of the security's trading turnover for the day.

The price of HSBC shares fell from last Friday's closing price of HK$43.5 to 37.7 at the end of the continuous trading session, representing a drop of 13.3 percent. It continued to fall, to close at HK$33 at the end of the closing auction session, representing a drop of another 12.5 percent.

The security's closing price fell a total of 24.1 percent from the closing price of the previous trading day. (US$1 = HK$7. 747)

(Xinhua News Agency March 10, 2009)