Hong Kong stocks closed 0.71 percent lower on Thursday despite upbeat data from China which showed manufacturing activity expanded to a seven-month high in October. The benchmark Hang Seng Index dipped 164.13 points to 22,835.82 on turnover of HK$65.25 billion ($8.42 billion).
British bank HSBC said its preliminary purchasing managers' index for October hit a seven-month high of 50.9, an improvement from September's 50.2 and the highest since 51.6 in March. "Investors may need more positive signals to confirm strength in economic growth," Northeast Securities analyst Wang Guobing told Dow Jones Newswires.
Chinese property developers continued to slump in the wake of a new plan in Beijing to introduce lower-priced housing, the first major property reform in months. Country Garden fell 5.4 percent to HK$5.06, China Overseas Land declined 2.1 percent to HK$23.15, while China Resources Land lost 2.06 percent to HK$21.35. Chinese shares closed down 0.86 percent. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index fell 18.79 points to 2,164.32 on turnover of 90.0 billion yuan ($14.8 billion). Coal firms and banks led the declines. Henan Dayou Energy slumped 7.94 percent to 9.62 yuan, while Yunnan Coal Energy dropped 4.26 percent to 9.22 yuan. China Minsheng Banking fell 1.76 percent to 8.91 yuan and China Citic Bank shed 1.31 percent to 3.78 yuan. Poly Real Estate lost 1.77 percent to 9.42 yuan while Gemdale fell 1.20 percent to 5.77 yuan.
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