Hong Kong shares finish 1.17% lower as coronavirus curbs extended

Techtronic Industries Co

08/04/2020 09:28

* Hang Seng index ends down 1.17%
    * China Enterprises index HSCE falls 1.68% 
    * HSI financial sector sub-index is 0.9% lower; property
sector
down 0.9%

    April 8 (Reuters) - Hong Kong shares ended lower on
Wednesday as the city's government extended social-distancing
restrictions and as global investors tempered their optimism
over the coronavirus pandemic amid a mounting global death toll.
     
** At the close of trade, the Hang Seng index  .HSI  was down
282.92 points, or 1.17%, at 23,970.37. The Hang Seng China
Enterprises index  .HSCE  fell 1.68% to 9,681.95.
 
** The sub-index of the Hang Seng tracking energy shares
 .HSCIE  dipped 2.3%, while the IT sector  .HSCIIT  dipped
0.75%, the financial sector  .HSNF  ended 0.95% lower and the
property sector dipped 0.89%.
 
** Hong Kong said on Wednesday social-distancing restrictions
including the closure of some bars and pubs and a ban on public
gatherings of more than four people would be extended until
April 23.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N2BW0MF
 
** Hong Kong's government will offer a relief package worth more
than HK$100 billion ($12.90 billion) to help workers and
businesses struggling with the COVID-19 crisis, the South China
Morning Post reported.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nFWN2BW01L       
 
** The top gainer on the Hang Seng was Techtronic Industries Co
Ltd  0669.HK , which rose 2.33%, while the biggest loser was
China Unicom Hong Kong Ltd  0762.HK , which fell 3.37%.
 
** China's main Shanghai Composite index  .SSEC  closed down
0.19% at 2,815.37 points, while the blue-chip CSI300 index
 .CSI300  ended down 0.47%.
 
** Around the region, MSCI's Asia ex-Japan stock index
 .MIAPJ0000PUS  was weaker by 0.86%, while Japan's Nikkei index
 .N225  closed up 2.13%.
 
** The yuan  CNY=CFXS  was quoted at 7.0689 per U.S. dollar at
08:20 GMT, 0.35% weaker than the previous close of 7.0445. 
 
** The top gainers among H-shares were Fosun International Ltd
 0656.HK  up 0.33%, followed by China Minsheng Banking Corp Ltd
 1988.HK , gaining 0.18% and Sinopharm Group Co Ltd  1099.HK ,
up by 0.11%.
 
** The three biggest H-shares percentage decliners were Sunac
China Holdings Ltd  1918.HK , which was down 4.81%, New China
Life Insurance Co Ltd  1336.HK , which fell 4.36%, and ANTA
Sports Products Ltd  2020.HK , down 4%.
 
($1 = 7.7520 Hong Kong dollars)

 (Reporting by Andrew Galbraith; editing by Nick Macfie)
 ((Andrew.Galbraith@tr.com; +86 21 2083 0079; Reuters Messaging:
andrew.galbraith.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net ; Twitter: https://twitter.com/apgalbraith))