New | Hong Kong, China markets lower for the week, analysts warn of likely downbeat open Monday
The Hang Seng index and China Enterprises index both end 2.2 per cent lower
Hong Kong and Chinese markets ended the week lower as falling commodity prices and weak Chinese credit growth weighed on sentiment, with markets tipped to open lower Monday after mainland Chinese regulators announced late Friday a surprise tightening in margin requirements.
Energy companies were hammered after crude oil prices fell to a two-month low amid a wider commodities sell-off after the US dollar strengthened ahead of a US rate rise expected next month.
PetroChina fell 3.9 per cent to HK$5.70 and Sinopec dropped 4.8 per cent to HK$5.11. Shares in commodities trader Glencore fell 7.6 per cent to HK$11.66.
“The commodities price dropped on Thursday night while both US and European markets were down on Thursday night. This affected the Hong Kong and China markets and the outlook for next week is not looking good,” said Louis Tse Ming-kwong, director of VC Brokerage.
“The bad debt problems and economic slowdown would continue to drag down the banking and insurance stocks. The depreciation of the yuan also led overseas investors to avoid Chinese stocks.”
The onshore yuan eased further to hit a six-week low on Friday, closing at 6.3735 against the US dollar, the lowest since September 25 when it traded at 6.3737.
The Hang Seng index finished 2.2 per cent lower at 22,396.14 closing down 2.1 per cent for the week. The China Enterprises index finished 2.2 percentage points lower at 10,181.47, its biggest one day fall in six weeks.
