The bank believes HHI and other Asian rivals could see orders slump as shipowners find it harder to arrange funds.
Shares in HHI and China’s CSSC were cut to “underweight” from “overweight” by HSBC analyst Steve Man in a note to clients.
Man, who also cited falling commodity prices and a strengthening dollar, downgraded Cosco Corp (Singapore) to “underweight” from “neutral.”
He said: “It's time to reset our near-term sights given the fall in shipbuilders' share prices and the probability that the environment is likely to continue to deteriorate.”