950804

HK stocks close

slightly lower

HONG KONG: Hong Kong stocks closed a day of dull dealings slightly lower, subdued by a lack of fresh local incentives and concerns over Wall Street, said brokers.

The blue-chip Hang Seng Index fell 16.89 points to end at 9,362.83. Turnover shrank to HK$2.67 billion from Thursday's adjusted HK$3.52 billion.

"Wall Street's quite unsettled recently and there's growing concern over its direction. That's why the U.S. jobs report tonight will be quite crucial as it could determine to a large extent the direction of U.S. stocks and bonds," said Eddie Chu, a fund manager at Sanwa International Finance.

The broader All Ordinaries Index lost 6.08 to 4,574.56.

Players said blue chips were in a lull because of a lack of fresh liquidity, perhaps caused by fund managers going on vacation.

Index heavyweight HSBC remained the most actively traded issue and put on 50 cents to HK$105.50.

It was followed by CITIC Pacific, which won the prime Tamar redevelopment site tender with a higher than expected bid. The stock bounced back 10 cents to HK$21.05 after tumbling 50 cents yesterday after confirmation of the tender result.

HK Telecom, the second largest local stock after HSBC, fell 10 cents to HK$13.85.

August index futures dipped five to 9,380 and September lost 25 to 9,355 on combined volume of 9,616 lots, according to initial figures.-Reuter