MW: Hong Kong stocks drop, with banks, airlines weak
By Michael Kitchen
LOS ANGELES (MarketWatch) -- Hong Kong stocks began the holiday-shortened week sharply lower, as U.S. losses Friday over concerns of Egyptian unrest helped drag Chinese banks lower, and with gains in crude-oil futures pulling down airline stocks. The benchmark Hang Seng Index (HK:HANGSENG 23,363, -254.46, -1.08%) dropped 1.1%to 23,349.4 in early trading, while the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index -- which tracks H-shares, or Hong Kong-listed stock on mainland Chinese firms -- lost 1.2% to 12,409.9, even as the Shanghai Composite (CN:SHCOMP 2,790, +36.77, +1.34%) rose 0.2% to 2,758.28. Among financials, HSBC Holdings PLC (HK:5 84.55, -1.55, -1.80%) (HBC 54.15, -1.29, -2.33%) fell 1.5%, and Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd. (HK:1398 5.74, -0.06, -1.03%) (IDCBF 0.74, -0.01, -1.33%) gave up 1.2%. In Shanghai, shares of ICBC (CN:601398 4.23, +0.03, +0.71%) were flat. With benchmark crude futures in New York back around the $90 level, China Eastern Airlines Corp. (HK:670 3.60, -0.09, -2.43%) (CHEAF 0.50, +0.01, +1.82%) fell 2.7%, and Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd. (HK:293 19.56, -0.54, -2.69%) (CPCAY 12.85, -0.26, -1.98%) surrendered 2.2%. Meanwhile, China Unicom Hong Kong Ltd. (HK:762 13.00, +0.02, +0.15%) (CHU 16.12, -0.40, -2.42%) was off 2.2% after it said it expects fiscal 2010 profit to fall by more than half.