HONG Kong shares ended weaker on Wednesday as investors reconsidered their initial enthusiasm over a truce in trade dispute between Washington and Beijing, while fresh data pointed to further weakness in the Chinese economy.
At the close of trade, the Hang Seng index was down 20.42 points or 0.07% at 28,855.14.
The Hang Seng China Enterprises index ended down 0.54% at 10,922.41, with new data showing slowing growth in China’s services sector further weighing on sentiment.
Adding to investor concerns over trade negotiations, White House trade adviser Peter Navarro said on Tuesday the talks were “headed in a very good direction”, but that a deal “will take time”.
The sub-index of the Hang Seng tracking energy shares dropped 1.1%, while the IT sector dipped 0.8%, and the financial sector ended 0.19% lower.
Property shares were a rare bright spot, with an index tracking the sector rising 1.33% after some property firms posted solid sales growth. Developer China Vanke Co Ltd rose 2.33% and China Aoyuan Group Ltd gained 1.53% after earlier touching an all-time high.
The top gainer on the Hang Seng was CSPC Pharmaceutical Group Ltd, which gained 2.5%, while the biggest loser was Sunny Optical Technology Group Co Ltd, which dropped 3%.
China’s main Shanghai Composite index closed down 0.94% at 3,015.26 points, while the blue-chip CSI300 index ended down 1.11%.
Around the region, MSCI’s Asia ex-Japan stock index was weaker by 0.35%, while Japan’s Nikkei index closed 0.53% weaker.
The yuan was quoted at 6.8843 per U.S. dollar at 0823 GMT, 0.15% weaker than the previous close of 6.8738. Earlier on Wednesday, the currency hit its weakest level against the dollar in a week as comments by Premier Li Keqiang stoked market expectations of further policy easing.
The top gainers among H-shares were CSPC Pharmaceutical Group Ltd up 2.5%, followed by China Vanke Co Ltd, gaining 2.33% and China Resources Land Ltd, up by 1.88%.
The three biggest H-shares percentage decliners were CITIC Securities Co Ltd, which closed 2.41% lower, Shenzhou International Group Holdings Ltd, which ended down 1.88% and New China Life Insurance Co Ltd, which closed 1.79% weaker. - Reuters
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