People walk past an electronic board showing Hong Kong share index outside a local bank in Hong Kong, Wednesday, Sept. 5, 2018. Asian stocks sank Wednesday after Wall Street declined on losses for tech and health care companies.
HONG KONG: The Hong Kong’s benchmark index extended its fall to a sixth straight day on Wednesday, weighed by consumer and service sectors, as worries about China’s economic health and the broadening Sino-U.S. trade war continue to curb risk appetite.
The Hang Seng index fell 0.3 percent, to 26,345.04, while the China Enterprises Index lost 0.9 percent, to 10,238.77 points.
Chinese Vice Premier Hu Chunhua on Wednesday called for a rejection of protectionism and said unilateral trade policies by some countries posed a ”most serious hazard” to the world economy.
Underlining the vulnerability of China’s economy to an escalating Sino-U.S. trade war, China is expected to report investment growth hovered at record lows in August and retail sales were among the weakest since 2003.
The main index was dragged lower by the consumer and services sectors, which lost over 2 percent each.
The sub-index of the Hang Seng tracking energy shares rose 0.6 percent, while the IT sector dipped 0.18 percent, the financial sector was 0.38 percent lower and property sector rose 0.33 percent.
Around the region, MSCI’s Asia ex-Japan stock index was weaker by 0.16 percent, while Japan’s Nikkei index closed down 0.27 percent.
The yuan was quoted at 6.8675 per U.S. dollar at 08:20 GMT, 0.06 percent firmer than the previous close of 6.8719.
The top gainers among H-shares were Great Wall Motor Co Ltd up 3.45 percent, followed by CGN Power Co Ltd , gaining 2.31 percent and China Gas Holdings Ltd , up by 1.5 percent.
The three biggest H-shares percentage decliners were CSPC Pharmaceutical Group Ltd, which was down 10.16 percent, China Huarong Asset Management Co Ltd, which fell 2.8 percent and Dongfeng Motor Group Co Ltd, down by 2.7 percent.
The price-to-earnings ratio of the Hang Seng index was 10.18 as of the last full trading day while the dividend yield was 3.6 percent. - Reuters
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