HK stocks fall most in 4 weeks as global virus spread widens
24/02/2020 08:53
Feb 24 (Reuters) - Hong Kong stocks fell the most in four
weeks on Monday, as a spike in coronavirus infections and deaths
beyond mainland China eclipsed Beijing's assurance to step up
efforts to help cushion the blow to its economy.
** The Hang Seng index .HSI fell 1.8%, to 26,820.88, while the
China Enterprises Index .HSCE lost 2.1%, to 10,568.33.
** Investor confidence took a hit after South Korea put the
country on high alert as the number of infections jumped to over
700 and deaths rose to seven. In Italy, the number of cases
jumped to above 150 from just three before Friday. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL5N2AN09K
urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL3N2AO0DA
** Iran, which announced its first infection last week, said it
had confirmed 43 cases and eight deaths. Saudi Arabia, Kuwait,
Iraq, Turkey and Afghanistan imposed travel and immigration
restrictions on the Islamic Republic.
** Market sentiment was hurt as the coronavirus outbreak spread
outside China, said Linus Yip, an analyst with First Shanghai
Securities.
** U.S. and China stock markets giving up some of their recent
strong gains could have also increased pressure on the Hong Kong
market, he added.
** China will step up policy adjustments to help cushion the
blow to the economy from the coronavirus outbreak that
authorities are still trying to control, President Xi Jinping
was quoted as saying on Sunday. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL3N2AN08Z
** The central bank will take further steps to support the
virus-hit economy, including releasing more liquidity and
lowering funding costs for companies, a vice governor of the
bank told state media. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL3N2AM00I
** The sub-index of the Hang Seng tracking energy shares
.HSCIE dipped 3.1%, while the IT sector .HSCIIT dropped
2.6%, the financial sector .HSNF ended 1.7% lower and the
property sector slid 1.4%.
** The top gainer on the Hang Seng was Power Assets Holdings Ltd
0006.HK , which climbed 1.68%, while the biggest loser was
PetroChina Co Ltd 0857.HK , which fell 4.73%.
** Around the region, MSCI's Asia ex-Japan stock index
.MIAPJ0000PUS was weaker by 2.16%, while Japan's Nikkei index
.N225 closed down 0.39%.
** The top gainers among H-shares were China Tower Corp Ltd
0788.HK , up 6.52%, followed by China Resources Gas Group Ltd
1193.HK , gaining 0.49%, and ENN Energy Holdings Ltd 2688.HK ,
up by 0.55%.
** The three biggest H-shares percentage decliners were BYD Co
Ltd 1211.HK , which was down 6.18%, ANTA Sports Products Ltd
2020.HK , which fell 5.29%, and PetroChina Co Ltd 0857.HK ,
down by 4.73%.
(Reporting by the Shanghai Newsroom; Editing by Subhranshu
Sahu)
((luoyan.liu@thomsonreuters.com; Reuters Messaging:
luoyan.liu.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))