Hong Kong shares end lower; HSBC drags after profit slump

Hong Kong shares closed down on Monday on weak global sentiment, with U.S. lawmakers struggling to agree to a new stimulus plan, and after a bigger-than-expected drop in profit at HSBC pulled the bank's shares sharply lower. ** HSBC shares were the biggest loser on the Hang Seng index on Monday.

Hong Kong shares closed down on Monday on weak global sentiment, with U.S. lawmakers struggling to agree to a new stimulus plan, and after a bigger-than-expected drop in profit at HSBC pulled the bank's shares sharply lower.

** At the close of trade, the Hang Seng index was down 137.22 points or 0.56% at 24,458.13.

** Investor sentiment across the region was mixed as U.S. lawmakers struggled to hammer out a new stimulus plan amid a global surge of new coronavirus cases, as the outlook for the world's largest economy dimmed.

** The Hang Seng China Enterprises index fell 0.07% to 10,033.2, outperforming the main index after China's factory activity expanded at the fastest pace in nearly a decade in July as domestic demand continued to improve after the coronavirus crisis.

** Hong Kong-listed shares of HSBC Holdings ended 4.43% lower after the bank reported a 65% slump in first-half pre-tax profit. The bank's shares had earlier fallen as much as 5.72% to HK$32.95, their lowest level since March 2009.

** HSBC shares were the biggest loser on the Hang Seng index on Monday. The top gainer on the index was WH Group Ltd, which added 2.03%. ** China's main Shanghai Composite index closed up 1.75% at 3,367.97 points, while the blue-chip CSI300 index ended up 1.62%.

** Around the region, MSCI's Asia ex-Japan stock index was weaker by 0.42%, while Japan's Nikkei index closed up 2.24%.

** The yuan was quoted at 6.9769 per U.S. dollar at 08:16 GMT, 0.03% weaker than the previous close of 6.9745.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)