Hong Kong shares pulled back 1.8 percent on Tuesday as investors reassessed risk assets following weak economic data from the US, while resource-linked counters were hard hit by falling commodity prices. But new listing Lumena Resources Corp defied the slump in the broader market, rising 19 percent from its listing price of HK$2.
The Chinese chemicals maker soared to HK$2.38 in its trading debut with shares worth HK$1.2 billion changing hands as investors looked for bargains. Hong Kong stocks are trading at more than 16 times their price-to-earnings multiple, compared with less than eight times for Lumena.
China stocks slipped 0.5 percent, weighed down by Ping An Insurance on potential concerns over a bank acquisition deal, but outperformed overseas markets amid upbeat signs on the economy. Ping An sagging 4.9 percent to 43.85 yuan as investors were wary about the likely benefits of a deal to boost its stake in Shenzhen Development Bank to close to 30 percent.
Ping An rose only 2.30 percent on Monday after the announcement of the deal over the weekend, while Shenzhen Bank rose 2.68 percent to 22.59 yuan on Tuesday after soaring by its 10 percent daily limit on Monday. Despite the day's loss, Ping An is still up 65 percent for the year, compared with 52 percent for the Shanghai benchmark index.
In Hong Kong, Ping An extended the previous session's losses after Nomura cut its rating on the stock, following a Citigroup downgrade on Monday, to "neutral" from "buy", saying the short-term risks from the acquisition could outweigh its long-term benefits. The stock slid 5.1 percent to HK$54.25. The Shanghai Composite Index ended down 13.527 points at 2,776.022 points.
Losing Shanghai A shares outnumbered gainers by 522 to 392, while turnover in Shanghai A shares slipped to 107.9 billion yuan ($15.8 billion), the lowest so far this month, from Monday's 108.3 billion yuan. Brokerage shares outperformed, with CITIC Securities rising 3.5 percent to 28.57 yuan, buoyed by expectations of an imminent restart of IPOs that would boost their business. Property shares were weak, with China Vanke sinking 2.52 percent to 10.83 yuan.
Asia's largest oil and gas producer PetroChina shed 2.6 percent, while offshore oil specialist CNOOC shrank 5.5 percent to HK$9.90. The benchmark Hang Seng Index ended down 333.46 points at 18,165.50 bouncing off an earlier low of 17,859.74. Turnover rose to HK$76.5 billion from Monday's HK$65.3 billion. The China Enterprises Index of top mainland companies listed in Hong Kong fell 1.5 percent to 10,716.32.
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