Hong Kong shares end flat as investors expect govt measures from key political meetings

Hong Kong shares erased early losses to close flat on Wednesday on hopes of an economic stimulus during the Chinese parliament's annual political meeting starting on Friday.

** At the close of trade, the Hang Seng index was up 11.82 points or 0.05% at 24,399.95. The Hang Seng China Enterprises index rose 0.15% to 9,898. ** The sub-index of the Hang Seng tracking energy shares dipped 1%, while the IT sector rose 1.71%, the financial sector ended 0.22% lower and the property sector dipped 0.64%. ** China's main Shanghai Composite index closed down 0.51% at 2,883.74 points, while the blue-chip CSI300 index ended down 0.53%. ** While China's parliament's will begin a key annual session on Friday, its advisory body — The Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference — will start its session a day earlier. ** The National People's Congress this year is also expected to discuss the recent anti-government protests in Hong Kong. ** Around the region, MSCI's Asia ex-Japan stock index was firmer by 0.09%, while Japan's Nikkei index closed up 0.79%. ** The yuan was quoted at 7.1061 per U.S. dollar at 08:12 GMT, 0.09% weaker than the previous close of 7.1.