HK stocks fall most in a month as "hard Brexit" woes, weak mainland firms weigh
16/01/2017 08:09
Jan 16 (Reuters) - Hong Kong stocks suffered their biggest
one-day fall in a month on Monday, hurt by a slump in mainland
Chinese companies listed in the city and on concerns over the
impact of Britain's exit from the European Union.
The benchmark Hang Seng index .HSI dropped 1.0 percent, to
22,718.15 points.
The Hong Kong China Enterprises Index .HSCE , which tracks
mainland-based companies, was down a sharper 1.2 percent, to
9,666.09 points.
Hong Kong tracked Asian markets .MIAPJ0000PUS lower,
partly due to what dealers said was reaction to media reports
that U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May would use a speech on
Tuesday to signal plans for a "hard Brexit", in which border
control is prioritised over market
access. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N1F50EG urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL5N1F505I
The city's bourse is more exposed to global fund flows than
mainland markets, and therefore is sensitive to news events
affecting broad risk appetite.
Nearly all sectors on the Hong Kong bourse lost ground, but
utility stocks .HSCIU tacked on a modest 0.2 percent after
receiving a boost from Power Assets Holdings Ltd 0006.HK which
added nearly 3 percent.
Telecommunication firms .HSCIT and oil majors that had
rallied earlier on restructuring hopes corrected under
profit-taking pressure.
Shares of index heavyweights China Unicom Hong Kong Ltd
0762.HK , China Mobile Ltd 0941.HK , PetroChina Co Ltd
0857.HK and CNOOC Ltd 0883.HK all fell.
(Reporting by Jackie Cai and John Ruwitch; Editing by Shri
Navaratnam)
((Jackie.Cai@thomsonreuters.com; +86 021 6104 1775))
Keywords: CHINA STOCKS/HONGKONG CLOSE