Hong Kong stocks fell on Thursday, as fears of slower China growth amid Beijing's escalating trade war with the United States kept investor sentiment fragile.
The Hang Seng index fell 0.9 percent to 28,164.05, while the China Enterprises Index dropped 1.0 percent to 10,967.61 points.
Activity in China's vast factory sector likely slowed for the third straight month in August as domestic demand remained weak and exporters faced rising uncertainties from the trade war with the United States, a Reuters poll showed.
Sentiment was also hit by reports of outflows under the cross-border stock connect. The scheme registered a net selling of HK$26.9 billion ($3.43 billion) by mainland investors so far this month, the Shanghai Securities News reported on Thursday.
The Hang Seng sub-index tracking energy shares slipped 0.3 percent, while the IT sector dipped 0.92 percent, the financial sector was 0.86 percent lower and property sector dipped 0.82 percent.
The top gainer on Hang Seng was Bank of East Asia Ltd up 1.55 percent, while the biggest loser was Hang Lung Properties Ltd which was down 2.49 percent.