Hong Kong - Hong Kong stocks slipped 0.35 percent Friday as a rally on Wall Street was offset by a sell-off in Shanghai and concerns about China's economy, despite this week's monetary easing measures.
The benchmark Hang Seng Index lost 86.10 points to 24,679.39 on turnover of HK$75.94 billion ($9.80 billion).
While US equities provided a healthy lead, Hong Kong tracked losses in Shanghai, which came despite Wednesday's decision by the People's Bank of China to cut the amount of cash lenders must keep in reserve.
"Investors had anticipated such a move and it had been priced-in earlier," Central China Securities strategist Zhang Gang told AFP.
Shares in New York rallied on the back of another uptick in the price of oil, which is now at levels last seen at the turn of the year.
Adding to US buying sentiment was the European Central Bank's assurances that Greek banks would be able to access crucial cash.
Dealers were spooked when the ECB said Wednesday it would no longer accept Greek government bonds as collateral to raise funds.
However, the next day it stressed they could still tap its emergency liquidity assistance programme, soothing worries of an immediate banking crisis.
The Dow climbed 1.20 percent, the S&P 500 rose 1.03 percent and the Nasdaq advanced 1.03 percent.
In Hong Kong trading China Mobile lost 2.22 percent to HK$105.90, Ping An Insurance slipped 1.33 percent to HK$81.90 and Wharf Holdings shed 0.81 percent to HK$61.45.
HSBC gained 0.90 percent to HK$72.85 and Lenovo eased 0.69 percent to HK$11.50.
On mainland China, the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index dropped 1.93 percent, or 60.62 points, to 3,075.91 on turnover of 266.5 billion yuan ($42.70 billion).
The index, which surged more than 50 percent last year, has lost 1.67 percent over the past week to reach its lowest level since December 25.
The Shenzhen Composite Index, which tracks stocks on China's second exchange, lost 2.02 percent, or 30.85 points, to 1,495.26 on turnover of 224.8 billion yuan. It slid 0.51 percent during the week.
Wednesday's PBoC move failed to excite investors, who have also been spooked by liquidity concerns owing to new shares coming on to the market and an ongoing regulatory crackdown on margin trading.
Some 24 companies will next week launch initial public offerings (IPOs), which some fear could drain funds from existing shares.
"The main concern is that next week's IPOs will eat up too much liquidity," Wayne Fan, a Shanghai-based trader at Shenwan Hongyuan Securities Ltd, told Bloomberg News.
Recently listed budget carrier Spring Airlines fell 4.17 percent to 62.96 yuan in Shanghai, Shipbuilder China CSSC Holdings sank 3.64 percent to 33.86 yuan and China Shenhua Energy tumbled 3.45 percent to 17.92 yuan.
AFP
