Hong Kong stocks ended 0.64 percent lower Thursday reversing an opening rally that came after a surge on Wall Street. The Hang Seng Index slipped 153.48 points to 23,768.13 on turnover of HK$80.83 billion ($10.43 billion). The index rose in line with regional markets, which took their lead from Wall Street as the US Commerce Department said sales of new single-family houses rose 18 percent in August to their fastest pace since May 2008.
The Dow jumped 0.90 percent, the S&P 500 rose 0.78 percent and the Nasdaq rallied 1.03 percent. But the rally petered in the afternoon as traders took the latest data as another example of a strengthening US economy that could prompt the Federal Reserve to hike interest rates sooner than later. Energy giant CNOOC slipped 1.55 percent to HK$13.94, Sino Land fell 0.32 percent to HK$12.46 and Ping An Insurance of China was off 0.74 percent at HK$60.35.
Tencent shed 0.51 percent to HK$117.90 and Henderson Land Development lost 0.66 percent to end at HK$52.80, while HSBC dipped 0.12 percent to HK$82.20. In China the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index, which surged Wednesday, also saw an initial advance peter out to end up just 1.53 points at 2,345.10 - still at an 18-month high -on turnover of 189.3 billion yuan ($30.8 billion). The Shenzhen Composite Index, which tracks stocks on China's second exchange, slipped 0.01 percent, or 0.10 points, to 1,309.04 on turnover of 215.8 billion yuan. Traders took a breather after a recent run-up since HSBC Tuesday said its preliminary index of manufacturing activity in China saw a surprise increase.
"The trading volume was not big enough to support the uptrend," Shenyin & Wanguo Securities analyst Qian Qimin told AFP. "The market is wavering and it will likely continue to consolidate before the National Day holiday," he said. China's stock markets will be closed for a seven-day holiday from October 1.
Brokerages fell across the board on profit-taking. Hongyuan Securities dropped 1.94 percent to 12.11 yuan in Shenzhen, while China Merchants Securities fell 1.03 percent to 11.51 yuan in Shanghai. Nuclear power-related shares outperformed on hopes China will resume approvals for new projects. Nuclear equipment maker China First Heavy Industries approached its 10 percent daily limit at 3.66 yuan in Shanghai, while Woer Heat-shrinkable Material advanced 5.12 percent to 11.70 yuan.
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