Typhoon Koppu moves to China, HK markets normalise

HONG KONG (Reuters) - Business in Hong Kong is returning to normal as typhoon Koppu swept past the city onto the South China coastline, with the city's stock and financial markets due to reopen in the afternoon with the storm's passing.

Hong Kong's stock market and financial markets were suspended on Tuesday morning but Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing said trading would resume from 2:30 p.m. (0630 GMT) on Tuesday, while other markets and banks would reopen gradually.

Typhoon Koppu continued to move away from Hong Kong and the Hong Kong Observatory downgraded the No.8 storm signal with a No.3 strong wind signal at around 10:15 a.m. (0215 GMT).

Koppu brought gale-force winds, rough swells and heavy downpours to the city on Monday evening and overnight.

At least 28 people were admitted to hospital as a result of the typhoon, but most sustained only minor injuries and were discharged after treatment, the government said. Minor flooding was reported in some low-lying coastal areas.

Koppu made landfall on the coast of China's southern Guangdong province at around 7 a.m. (2300 GMT) where winds of up to 126 km/h were recorded according to provincial weather agencies.

The typhoon will slow to a tropical storm and move further inland east of Nanning within the next 12 hours, according to the Tropical Storm Risk forecasting service (www.tropicalstormrisk.com).

26,000 boats were ordered back to harbour by Guangdong authorities, schools were closed, and 110 offshore oil workers were evacuated from a facility near Hainan island, the official Xinhua news agency reported.

The typhoon also buffeted the Chinese gambling hub of Macau, with local television reports showing residents wading through knee-deep flood waters in some of the city's narrow, winding streets.