MW: Hong Kong shares move lower, with financials weak
By Michael Kitchen
LOS ANGELES (MarketWatch) -- Hong Kong stocks moved broadly lower in early Thursday trade, with financial shares trading down amid general concern that mainland China may significantly tighten lending in the near term. The Hang Seng Index traded 1% down at 20,695 in mid-morning action, while the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index was off 2% at 11,815. Shares of China Construction Bank Corp. (HK:939 5.75, -0.19, -3.20%) fell 2.7% after a Bloomberg report that it intends to sharply curb lending in the second half of the year, while Bank of China Ltd. (HK:3988 3.65, -0.09, -2.41%) lost 1.9% and HSBC Holdings Plc (HK:5 85.00, -0.20, -0.23%) (HBC 55.77, +1.53, +2.82%) slipped 0.1%. Shanghai-listed shares were also lower, with the Shanghai Composite off 0.6%.
