Hong Kong stocks pare losses

Hong Kong stocks pared sharp losses on Monday, as mainland investors sought bargains in blue chips such as Tencent Holdings and China Construction Bank. The benchmark Hang Seng index tumbled as much as 1.6 percent in the morning session, but recouped most of its losses by market close, ending at 28,596.80 points. The China Enterprises Index lost 0.7 percent, to 11,524.64 points, also recovering from its earlier tumble. The cross-border Shanghai-Hong Kong Connect scheme saw 2.6 billion yuan ($391.92 million) in net flows into Hong Kong stocks, over four times the amount during the previous session. IT stocks led the rebound with a 2.5 percent gain, as Chinese tech giant Tencent, a favourite among mainland investors, rose 2.5 percent. Energy shares were also strong, rising nearly 1 percent on the back of higher oil prices.