Hong Kong stocks ended nearly unchanged in light trade on Thursday with a poor trading debut from cellular firm Peoples providing a weak tone to the market and many investors sidelined ahead of a long weekend.
The blue chip Hang Seng Index ended down 0.04 percent, or 5.42 points, at 12,676.25.
Volume was the lowest so far this year with HK$11.6 billion (US $1.5 billion) changing hands and traders see the index trading within a 100-point range ahead of the long weekend.
Hong Kong markets will be closed on Monday for the Ching Ming holiday and then again next Friday and the following Monday for Easter.
"A lot of participants are factoring in market holidays. Futures and options are quiet which affects the cash market, too," said Edmond Lee, strategist at Sun Hung Kai research.
Index heavyweight HSBC Holdings weighed on the index, losing 0.43 percent to HK$117.
Investment bank Merrill Lynch said on Thursday that HSBC's rival Citigroup Inc has more upside between the two global banking giants given current stock prices.
Property shares gained some buying attention on further news of strong demand for properties as Hong Kong's economic recovery gathers steam.
Property heavy conglomerate Swire Pacific Ltd led blue chip gainers rising 2.37 percent to HK$54.
Hong Kong's largest property firm, Sun Hung Kai Properties Ltd, rose 1.75 percent to HK$72.50.
The company's shares have nearly doubled over the past year, but are trading below their 50-day moving average on a general softening of the stock market in the past month.
Shares in recently listed China companies lost ground as sentiment for China IPOs begins to fade despite a slew of new and upcoming listings.
Shares in China Life Insurance Co Ltd, which listed last December in the biggest global IPO of the year, fell 3.06 percent to HK$4.75 after a newspaper reported that US federal regulators have started a probe into accounting irregularities at the state-owned parent group before the listing.
China chip maker Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp (SMIC), which listed last month in Hong Kong and New York, fell 2.13 percent to HK$2.30.
Mid-tier Hong Kong cellular carrier China Resources Peoples Telephone Co Ltd finished its first trading day at HK$4.175, over eight percent below its initial public offering price of HK$4.55 per share. Oil refiner Sinopec Corp fell 0.83 percent to HK$2.975.
On the upside, shares in basic industries firm Asia Aluminium Holdings rose 8.25 percent to HK$1.05.
Asia Aluminum shares had been battered in recent days after it announced a 53 percent drop in interim earnings. The company said the group's executive director, already a substantial shareholder, acquired 0.16 percent of the existing issued shares in the company.
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