HONGKONG: Hong Kong shares closed lower on Wednesday, dragged down by technology and healthcare firms, while elevated short-term Treasury yields potentially drained liquidity from the market.

The Hang Seng Index fell 1.6% to 25,628.74, while the China Enterprises Index closed 1.8% lower at 9,093.80 points.

The Hang Seng Tech Index and the Hang Seng Healthcare Index slumped about 3% each.

Two-year U.S. Treasury yields leapt to a 19-month high, potentially draining liquidity from emerging markets.

Analysts said the announcement of U.S. Federal Reserve tapering next week is pretty much a done deal, markets have moved past taper-talk and are now focused on tightening.

Separately, China will ask underage users to submit personal details of their guardians as it looks to overhaul rules for registering online accounts under real names, and demand more verification checks by platforms.

Tech giants Alibaba Group, Meituan, Tencent Holdings declined between 3% and 5%.

The energy sub-index dropped more than 2% as shares of coal miners slumped.