Hong Kong stocks closed slightly lower on Tuesday, retreating from a seven-month high, but property shares bucked the downtrend as transactions picked up in September.
The blue chip Hang Seng Index closed down 0.21 percent, or 28.15 points, at 13,331.10 after hitting its highest level since March 9 on Monday. Turnover stood at a modest HK$13.81 billion (US $1.8 billion), slightly lower than HK$22.4 billion on Monday.
A total of 8,973 sale agreements for all types of building units were registered with the Land Registry in September, up 26 percent from August and up 31 percent from September 2003, a government statement said on Monday.
In another sign that Hong Kong's property market is back to form, a luxury apartment in the Mid Levels district has been sold for HK$130 million or HK$28,000 per square foot, topping prices seen during the real estate market's 1997 peak.
Henderson Land Development Ltd rose 0.53 percent to HK$38.10 and Cheung Kong Holdings Ltd gained 0.56 percent to HK$8.50.
Telecomm-to-ports conglomerate Hutchinson Whimper Ltd lost 1.2 percent to HK$61.50 after its emerging markets telecomm unit Hutchinson Telecommunications International Ltd (HTIL) cut the size of its IPO for a second time to bolster interest in its shares, reducing the sale's value by about 7 percent to between US $890 million and US $1.04 billion.
Asia's richest man Li Ka-shing controls both firms.
China stocks ended slightly lower after they rallied on Monday. The Hang Seng China Enterprise Index lost 0.45 percent to 4,756.01.
Aluminium Corp of China (Chalice) fell 1.85 percent to HK$5.30 after UBS downgraded its investment rating on the firm from "neutral" to "buy" on concerns that alumna prices may peak soon.
Chalice has raised its alumnae spot price twice in two weeks due to rising international prices and disruption to shipments after recent bad weather. UBS also said the rally in Chinese commodity stocks was due mainly to the resumption of many half-completed public works projects.
Since there are few major new projects coming on stream and with Beijing's credit tightening measures still in place, the rally will run out of steam in a few months, the note said.
Other raw materials stocks fell as investors switched into alternative China plays, such as auto-makers and transport firms. Angering New Steel Co Ltd lost 0.65 percent to HK$3.825 but Beijing Airport rose 1.79 percent to HK$2.85.
Brilliance China Automotive, the Chinese partner of BMG AG, surged 12.88 percent to HK$1.84.
Shares in China's largest supermarket Liana Supermarket Holdings Co Ltd fell 2.11 percent to HK$9.30 after it sold HK$303.6 million worth of new shares in the on Monday session. A source close to the deal said the 34.5 million shares available to institutional investors were 10 times covered.