Stock Connect delay worries investors

Excitement has given way to impatience as investors in Shanghai are waiting for the green light that would signal the start of the much-hyped Stock Connect program that would inject new life into the moribund capital market.

Pointing to the decline in the benchmark index on Friday, capital market sources said the fall is an indication of the growing frustration among investors in Shanghai. Most of the investors had anticipated healthy returns from the Stock Connect program and were buying up shares. The inordinate delay has made them apprehensive, said the sources.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index declined 0.64 percent to 2,341.43 at close on Friday. The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index added 0.48 percent in Hong Kong.