Hong Kong: Stocks ease as 5-day rally peters out

[HONG KONG] Hong Kong stocks fell, bucking a regional rally, as investors took a breather after five days of gains in the city.

The benchmark Hang Seng index was down 0.5 per cent, at 22,829.02 points, while the Hong Kong China Enterprises Index lost 0.1 per cent, to 9,723.05 points.

Asia stocks rose, partly on relief after US President-elect Donald Trump kept off the subject of tariffs against Chinese exports in a news conference on Wednesday.

But the bullish sentiment was cancelled out by profit-taking pressure in the city after the benchmark index added more than 3.6 per cent in the past five sessions.

The Hang Seng China AH Premium Index, which measures the valuation gap for companies listed on both mainland exchanges and in Hong Kong, rebounded on Thursday after touching a three-month low.

The index ended at 120.74, meaning major Hong Kong stocks currently trade at a 20 per cent discount to their mainland peers. The discount has halved over the past year, partly due to mainland money flowing into Hong Kong shares.

Services shares led a broad-based retreat, with an index tracking the sector down 1.4 per cent.

The tech sector also fell after index heavyweight Tencent Holdings Ltd dropped more than 1 per cent after rising 6.2 per cent in the past five sessions.

REUTERS