A “raft of negative catalysts” has prompted one shipping analyst in Hong Kong to downgrade the shares of Cosco Shipping Holdings.

BOCOM Group’s Geoffrey Cheng has lowered his rating for the Hong Kong-listed liner giant to ‘neutral’, according to a note sent to investors.

“We believe the increasingly gloomy US-China trade outlook as well as the persistent high level of the crude oil price will dampen earnings in the fourth quarter and probably the first half of 2019,” he said.