The closure of Hong Kong’s financial markets on Friday in the face of of Typhoon Nuri meant the territory’s traders were excused from battling against 120km per hour winds to reach their desks.

But with falls in other Asian bourses on Friday pushing the region to a fresh two-year low, Hong Kong investors may early next week face another struggle: keeping the benchmark Hang Seng index above the psychologically significant 20,000 level.