Hong Kong: Shares end down, global monetary policies in focus

[HONG KONG] Hong Kong stocks weakened on Thursday, as investors assessed the effects of diverging global monetary policies after the market rallied this week on the Chinese yuan's global reserve currency status.

The European Central Bank is widely expected to announce more quantitative easing this week, while the US Federal Reserve will likely raise rates later this month.

The Hang Seng index fell 0.3 per cent, to 22,417.01, while the China Enterprises Index lost 0.6 per cent, to 9,987.84 points.

IT and consumer were among the few sub-indexes that ended the session in positive territory on Thursday.

Geely Auto lost more than 1 per cent, as investors were not encouraged by the Chinese carmaker's plan to launch a high-end car rental and ride-hailing app to compete with the likes of Uber.

REUTERS