HONG KONG: Hong Kong shares ended lower on Wednesday, as healthcare firms slumped on concerns that the United States would place some biotech firms on investment and export blacklists. Hang Seng index fell 0.9% to 23,420.76, while the China Enterprises Index lost 0.9% to 8,342.91.

The healthcare sub-index slumped more than 9%, with Wuxi Biologics leading the decline and plunging nearly 20%, the biggest percentage decliner on the Hang Seng Index and dragged down the benchmark 126 points.

The U.S. commerce department is expected to place more than two dozen Chinese companies on the entity list on Thursday, including some involved in biotechnology, according to the Financial Times.

Chinese biotech company BeiGene Ltd plunged on its Shanghai debut, while its Hong Kong-listed shares also closed down 7.6%. The Hang Seng Tech Index lost 1.5%, with Meituan down 1.8%, while Alibaba Group gained 1.9%.