Hong Kong: Shares slip on discouraging China trade data

[HONG KONG] Hong Kong shares fell on Monday, dragged down by banking and property stocks on concerns over China's economy after it reported worse-than-expected January trade data.

Data published on Sunday pointed to deepening weakness in the Chinese economy, with exports falling 3.3 per cent last month from year-earlier levels while imports tumbled 19.9 per cent, the sharpest since May 2009.

The Hang Seng index fell 0.6 per cent, to 24,521.00, while the China Enterprises Index lost 0.4 per cent, to 11,647.42 points.

Among the most actively traded stocks on Hong Kong's main board were China Jianhai, up 12.3 per cent to HK$0.07 ICBC, down 1.3 per cent to HK$5.54 and Kaisa Group , up 17.6 per cent to HK$1.87.

Total trading volume of companies included in the HSI index was 1.3 billion shares.

REUTERS