By Laura He, MarketWatch
Japan stocks snap losing string
HONG KONG (MarketWatch) -- Hong Kong stocks fell on Thursday to
their lowest settlement in nearly two weeks, as casino shares
suffered heavily across the board.
The Hang Seng Index ended down 0.8% at 24,387.56, marking its
second day of losses.
Macau casino operator Galaxy Entertainment Corp. sank 6.4%,
while rival Sands China skidded 5.8%. The pair, both of which are
index components, have recently seen employees protest over
benefits and pay, and the sector has suffered this week in the wake
of weak gambling-revenue numbers for Macau.
Other underperformers in the sector included Wynn Macau , diving
7.6%, MGM China Holdings , down 6.3%, Melco Crown Entertainment ,
off 4.8%, and SJM Holdings , falling 3.4%.
Standard Chartered PLC lost 0.8%, after the British bank said it
might face another fine from U.S. regulators over its
money-laundering controls.
In other Asian markets, Japan's Nikkei Average finished higher
by 0.5%, snapping a five-session string of losses, as a Reuters
report said Japan's Government Pension Investment Fund, one of the
world's largest pension funds, plans to increase its allocation to
domestic stocks to over 20%.
The broader Topix index advanced 0.6%, while the yen (USDJPY)
weakened to Yen102.32 per dollar from Yen102.11 on Wednesday.
Elsewhere, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 dipped 0.1%, South
Korea's Kospi Composite Index dropped 0.3%, while mainland China's
Shanghai Composite Index tumbled 1.3%.
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