Hong Kong shares down

Hong Kong shares finished down on Friday as investors awaited clearer signals on the direction of China's monetary policy and industrial growth, ending a week on a flat note. Mainland news reports that 23 banks in Zhejiang would be allowed to cut their reserve ratios requirement another 50 basis points boosted financials early in the day, but the index gave up its gains in afternoon trade.
The Hang Seng index fell 0.3 percent, to 24,823.29, while the China Enterprises Index lost 0.3 percent, to 12,185.85 points. Total trading volume of companies included in the HSI index was 1.6 billion shares. For the month, the index gained 1.5 percent, underperforming the Shanghai Composite Index, which rose over 4 percent.