Hong Kong stocks track Asian markets lower on lockdown worries

Hong Kong stocks ended lower on Tuesday, tracking other Asian markets amid concerns about fresh pandemic lockdowns in Europe.

At the close of trade, the Hang Seng index was down 233.84 points or 0.98pc at 23,716.85.

The Hang Seng China Enterprises index fell 0.66pc to 9,576.81.

The sub-index of the Hang Seng tracking energy shares dipped 1.9pc, while the IT sector dipped 0.15pc, the financial sector ended 0.96pc lower and the property sector dipped 1.08pc.

The top gainer on the Hang Seng was China Mengniu Dairy Co Ltd, which gained 1.14pc, while the biggest loser was Geely Automobile Holdings Ltd, which fell 4.38pc.

New pandemic measures in the UK set off declines in airline, hotel and cruise companies in both European and US markets, spurring fears about further restrictions.

Hong Kong shares of HSBC and Standard Chartered weakened further as global banking stocks remained under intense pressure on reports about financial institutions allegedly moving illicit funds.

Britain-based HSBC Holdings Plc and Standard Chartered Plc were among the lenders named in the report by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists and based on leaked documents obtained by BuzzFeed News.

Around the region, MSCI's Asia ex-Japan stock index was weaker by 1.26pc, while Japan's Nikkei index closed up 0.18pc.

The yuan was quoted at 6.7922 per US dollar at 08:11 GMT, 0.18pc firmer than the previous close of 6.8044.

At close, China's A-shares were trading at a premium of 46.63pc over Hong Kong-listed H-shares.