Hong Kong stocks end lower after Fed's surprise turn

Hong Kong stocks fell on Monday, largely in line with other Asian markets, as investors pondered the implications of the US Federal Reserve's surprise hawkish shift last week.

** At the close of trade, the Hang Seng index was down 312.27 points, or 1.08%, at 28,489.00. The Hang Seng China Enterprises index fell 0.93% to 10,547.86.

** The sub-index of the Hang Seng tracking energy shares dropped 0.9%, the IT sector slipped 1.2%, the financial sector ended 1.89% lower and the property sector fell 1.16%.

** The top gainer on the Hang Seng was AAC Technologies Holdings Inc, which gained 5.15%, while the biggest loser was Haidilao International Holding Ltd, which fell 5.06%.

** Around the region, MSCI's Asia ex-Japan stock index was weaker by 1.07%, while Japan's Nikkei index closed down 3.29%.

** US St. Louis Federal Reserve President James Bullard said on Friday that the US central bank's shift towards a faster tightening of monetary policy was a "natural" response to economic growth and particularly inflation moving quicker than expected as the country reopens from the COVID-19 pandemic.

** China kept its benchmark lending rate for corporate and household loans unchanged for the 14th straight month at its June fixing on Monday, in line with market expectations.

** The Financial News, backed by the Peoples Bank of China (PBOC), on Sunday advised against speculating about liquidity tightening and policy direction, saying such action can mislead and roil markets.

** China's main Shanghai Composite index closed up 0.12% at 3,529.18 points, while the blue-chip CSI300 index ended down 0.24%.

** The yuan was quoted at 6.468 per US dollar at 08:10, 0.22% weaker than the previous close of 6.4537.

** At close, China's A-shares were trading at a premium of 38.11% over Hong Kong-listed H-shares.