Hong Kong stocks broke a five-day winning streak on Friday, as gains in air carriers were offset by weakness in energy shares following a tumble in oil prices. Chinese investors failed to lend support to the market during the session because two cross-border connect schemes - the source of steady liquidity support from the mainland - have been suspended due to the Dragon Boat Festival holiday, which starts on Sunday.
The Hang Seng index was unchanged at 25,639.27, while the China Enterprises Index gained 0.1 percent, to 10,579.67 points. For the week, both Hang Seng and HSCE gained 1.8 percent. Hong Kong-listed airline stocks rose sharply on expectations that a slide in oil prices would reduce carriers' fuel cost. Crude oil skidded 5 percent after OPEC and allied producers announced extended output cuts that disappointed investors. Both Air China and China Southern Airlines jumped over 3 percent, while China Eastern Airlines rose about 1 percent. But optimism in airline stocks was counteracted by pessimism in the energy sector, which fell 0.4 percent.
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