HONG KONG: Hong Kong stocks followed Asian markets lower, after Wall Street dropped overnight as a rise in US bond yields above 3 percent triggered a flight from equities.
The Hang Seng index fell 1.0 percent to 30,328.15, while the China Enterprises Index lost 1.2 percent, at 12,094.32.
The sub-index of the Hang Seng tracking energy shares dipped 0.9 percent, the IT sector lost 2.14 percent, the financial sector was 0.71 percent lower and the property sector fell 0.62 percent.
The top gainer on Hang Seng was Want Want China Holdings Ltd up 4.17 percent, while the biggest loser was WH Group Ltd which was down 9.51 percent.
Around the region, MSCI’s Asia ex-Japan stock index was weaker by 0.84 percent, while Japan’s Nikkei index closed down 0.28 percent.
The yuan was quoted at 6.3211 per US dollar at 08:26 GMT, 0.22 percent weaker than the previous close of 6.3073.
As of the previous trading session, the Hang Seng index was up 2.4 percent this year, while China’s H-share index was up 4.6 percent. As of the previous close, the Hang Seng has risen 1.8 percent this month.
The top gainers among H-shares were Great Wall Motor Co Ltd up 2.89 percent, followed by Huaneng Power International Inc gaining 2.28 percent and CSPC Pharmaceutical Group Ltd up by 2.21 percent.
The three biggest H-shares percentage decliners were Hengan International Group Company Ltd which was down 3.18 percent, Anhui Conch Cement Co Ltd which fell 3.0 percent and GF Securities Co Ltd down by 3.0 percent.
About 1.73 billion Hang Seng index shares were traded, roughly 94.3 percent of the market’s 30-day moving average of 1.83 billion shares a day. The volume traded in the previous session was 1.80 billion.
At close, China’s A-shares were trading at a premium of 22.29 percent over the Hong Kong-listed H-shares.
The price-to-earnings ratio of the Hang Seng index was 12.56 as of the last full trading day, while the dividend yield was 3.2 percent.
Source: Brecorder
