HONG KONG: Hong Kong shares fell on Friday, as the Hang Seng Index closed below a support level it had held for the past week, with investors cutting risk ahead of a European leaders' meeting on the region's debt crisis later in the day.
The Hang Seng Index closed at 18,586.23, down 2.73 percent on the day and down 2.39 percent for the week. The China Enterprises Index ended at 10,066.63 points, down 3.16 percent on the day and down 2.74 percent on the week.
The Shanghai Composite Index finished down 0.62 percent at 2,315.27, the lowest in 33-months, as A-share turnover slumped to a second three-year low in three days. It lost 1.92 percent on the week, its fifth-straight weekly loss.
HIGHLIGHTS:
Turnover remained weak, as the Hang Seng Index broke below 18,818 points, a level that has served as chart support since late last week. It closed near the bottom of a gap that opened up between the low of Nov 17, at 18,657, and the high of Nov 18, at 18,561.
Midland Holdings Ltd slumped 7.5 percent in volume, more than twice its 30-day average. Midland rallied 9 percent on Thursday after Hong Kong's government said it may re-evaluate the special stamp duty it has imposed as a property market cooling measure, sparking optimism that physical transactions would increase. Analysts from Barclays derided that notion in a note on Friday, saying removing the special stamp duty and inviting short-term investors back into the property market would not help increase transaction volumes.
Chow Tai Fook Jewellery Group Ltd priced its $2 billion IPO at the bottom end of expectations on Friday, the latest of a slew of Hong Kong offerings to aim low as volatile global markets limit investor appetite for new listings. The Hong Kong-based jeweller raised about $2.02 billion in the third-biggest Hong Kong IPO of 2011, offering 1.05 billion new shares at HK$15 each, the bottom of an indicative range of HK$15 to HK$21, two sources with direct knowledge of the deal told Reuters on Friday. Haitong Securities Co Ltd was due to price its IPO later in the day.
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