Key Hang Seng index down after launch of Shanghai-HK Stock Connect

The benchmark Hang Seng Index fell 0.47 percent, or 113.21 points, to close Monday morning trading session at 23,974.17, after the official launch of Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect.

Over eighty percent, or about 10.4 billion yuan, (or about $1.7 billion) of the daily northbound trading quota was used up as of 11:30 am local time. However, only 10 percent of the daily southbound quota was finished during the same time.

The pilot scheme comes with limitations on the total RMB value of shares that can be traded through the exchanges of Hong Kong and Shanghai.

For the Northbound link, there is an aggregate cap of 300 billion yuan, and 13 billion yuan daily. The aggregate Southbound trading quota is 250 billion yuan, and 10.5 billion yuan daily. (1 Chinese Yuan equals to about $0.16. )