Hong Kong stocks fall, energy shares weigh

SHANGHAI: Hong Kong stocks ended lower on Tuesday, dragged by energy firms following a sharp decline in crude oil prices.

The Hang Seng index fell 1.3 percent, to 28,181.68 points, while the China Enterprises Index lost 1.1 percent, to 10,591.72 points.

Sectors fell across the board, led by energy which closed down 1.8 percent.

Oil prices fell for a second day as worries about possible disruptions to supply eased and as investors focused on potential damage to global growth from the festering Sino-U.S. trade spat. 

Brent crude futures fell 32 cents, or 0.5 percent, to $71.52 a barrel by 0638 GMT, the lowest since April 17. They fell 4.6 percent on Monday. 

There were also worries over China's economy amid trade war with the United States.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Monday warned that escalating and sustained trade conflicts following U.S. tariff actions threatened to derail economic recovery and depress medium-term growth prospects.

China said it's still confident of hitting its economic growth target of around 6.5 percent this year despite views that it faces a bumpy second half as a trade row with the United States intensifies. 

Around the region, MSCI's Asia ex-Japan stock index was weaker by 0.39 percent, while Japan's Nikkei index closed up 0.44 percent. 

The yuan was quoted at 6.6762 per U.S. dollar at 08:11 GMT, 0.24 percent firmer than the previous close of 6.6924. 

As of the previous trading session, the Hang Seng index was down 4.61 percent this year, while China's H-share index was down 8.6 percent. As of the previous close, the Hang Seng has declined 1.43 percent this month. 

The top gainers among H-shares were Guangzhou Automobile Group Co Ltd, up 3.55 percent, followed by New China Life Insurance Co Ltd, gaining 1.1 percent, and Guangdong Investment Ltd, up by 1.03 percent. 

The three biggest H-shares percentage decliners were Hengan International Group Company Ltd, which was down 4.21 percent, CSPC Pharmaceutical Group Ltd, which fell 3.7 percent, and CNOOC Ltd down by 3.4 percent. 

About 1.75 billion Hang Seng index shares were traded, roughly 89.2 percent of the market's 30-day moving average of 1.97 billion shares a day. The volume traded in the previous trading session was 1.28 billion. 

At close, China's A-shares were trading at a premium of 19.28 percent over the Hong Kong-listed H-shares. - Reuters