HONG KONG: Hong Kong stocks fell the most in nearly six weeks on Wednesday, as signs of escalating Sino-US tensions weighed on the market sentiment.

At the close of trade, the Hang Seng index was down 577.72 points, or 2.25%, at 25,057.94, its biggest fall since June 11. The Hang Seng China Enterprises index fell 1.93% to 10,243.51.

The sub-index of the Hang Seng tracking energy shares rose 2.1%, while the IT sector dipped 4.66%, the financial sector ended 2.09% lower and the property sector dipped 2.6%.

The top gainer on the Hang Seng was China Petroleum & Chemical Corp, which gained 4.52%, while the biggest loser was AAC Technologies Holdings Inc, which fell 7.02%.