By Michael Kitchen
LOS ANGELES (MarketWatch) -- Hong Kong shares moved lower in early Thursday trade, as Chinese economic data released at the market open showed higher-than-expected inflation, suggesting future tightening moves by Beijing. The benchmark Hang Seng Index was 1% lower at 21,075.6 in the early minutes, while the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index lost 1.4% to sit at 12,104.8. Financials reacted poorly to the data, with Bank of China Ltd. (HK:3988 3.92, -0.03, -0.76%) (BACH.Y 12.68, -0.72, -5.37%) down 1.8%, as did resource stocks such as Aluminum Corp. of China Ltd., or Chalco (ACH 30.33, -1.16, -3.68%) (HK:2600 9.19, -0.24, -2.55%) , which lost 2.9%, and PetroChina Co. (HK:857 9.34, -0.06, -0.64%) (PTR 120.53, -0.04, -0.03%) , which fell 1.6%. China's consumer price index rose a faster-than-expected 1.9% in December, compared to the year-earlier month, while producer prices gained 1.7% compared to an estimate of 0.5%, according to analysts' forecasts surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires. Mainland Chinese shares were unfazed, however, with the Shanghai Composite up 0.5% at 3,168.2. |
