Hong Kong stocks fell 1.4 percent on Friday as a slide on Wall Street amid inflation and interest rate worries prompted investors to sell across the board, with rate-sensitive property stocks among the hardest hit. Friday marked the worst one-day percentage drop since April 19, when markets were spooked by the prospects of further China tightening.
In its first trading day, electronics firm Ta Yang Group, which raised US $90 million in a Hong Kong initial public offering, rose steadily after a lacklustre start.
Sinopec Corp and other resource stocks fell to profit-taking after a string of records supported by higher crude prices. All 39 blue chips finished down; in the broad market, decliners outpaced gainers by roughly 2 to 1.
US Treasury yields remained above 5 percent in Asian trade following their overnight surge, sending warning signals about inflation and rising borrowing costs.
Hong Kong interest rates tend to track the US rate cycle because of its currency peg to the US dollar. Compounding the global rate worries, if a recent surge in local interbank rates persists amid slowing fund flows, Hong Kong banks may increase their lending rates.
Investors are now bracing for Wall Street's Friday performance. "If we have another big down day (in the US), it will be a black Monday," said Jackson Wong investment manager at Tanrich Securities. But others said investors were overreacting to interest rate worries.
The benchmark Hang Seng Index closed down 291.01 points at 20,509.15 for a weekly loss of 0.5 percent. Mainboard turnover was HK $69.1 billion (US $8.9 billion), up from Thursday's HK $64 billion. The China Enterprises index of H shares, or Hong Kong-listed shares in mainland companies, fell 1.2 percent to 10,828.64, down 0.4 percent for the week.
Top losers among property stocks were Hang Lung Properties, which tumbled 3.8 percent to HK $25.55. Henderson Land plummeted 3.4 percent to HK $52.55. The Hang Seng property sub-index slid 2.1 percent. Ta Yang tracked expectations to settle at HK $3.75, about 7 percent higher than its IPO price of HK $3.50, having gained as much as 9.1 percent at one point.
Sinopec declined 2 percent to HK $8.43 and China Shenhua dropped 2.4 percent to HK $24.50. Zijin Mining skidded 3 percent to HK $4.50. Bourse operator Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing was off 1.3 percent to HK $88.80, as a proxy for the increasingly cautious market.
But China Communications Construction Co Ltd jumped 3.8 percent to HK $11.54, reacting to a newspaper report on Thursday which quoted the company's chairman as saying the Chinese port builder's profits rose 60 to 70 percent and revenue rose 30 percent in the first four months of this year. Trading was suspended until Friday, when the company clarified the reported statements by the chairman.
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