By Laura He, MarketWatch
Hong Kong stocks pulled back Wednesday, as a slide in the
top-weighted HSBC Holdings PLC dragged the benchmark index lower,
while investors also took a cautious stance after the Chinese
central bank said it would maintain a steady monetary policy.
The Hang Seng Index ended 0.9% lower, with the Hang Seng China Enterprises down 0.4%.
The biggest drag came as banking major HSBC , which carries a
more than 12% weighting on the Hang Seng, extended its weakness
from previous sessions after a report on alleged tax evasion at its
Swiss unit. Shares of HSBC tumbled 2.2%, while fellow London-based
lender Standard Chartered plc slid 2.4%.
Major Chinese banks were mostly lower, after the People's Bank
of China said in its quarterly report on Tuesday that it would keep
monetary policy steady and create a "neutral and moderate"
financial environment for China's economic restructuring.
China Construction Bank Corporation lost 1%, both Industrial and
Commercial Bank of China Ltd. and Bank of China Ltd. fell 0.9%,
Agricultural Bank of China Ltd. dropped 0.8%, while China Citic
Bank Corporation Ltd. rose 0.4%.
Over on the mainland, the Shanghai Composite Index rose for a
third day in a row, up 0.5%.
In other Asian markets, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 gave up
0.5%, while South Korea's Kospi Composite Index advanced 0.5%.
Japan markets were closed on Wednesday for a public holiday.
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