Hong Kong stocks post fourth straight weekly drop as Sino-U.S. tensions weigh

Hong Kong stocks ended lower on Friday and posted a fourth straight weekly drop, after the Trump administration unveiled a plan to ban U.S. transactions with ByteDance's TikTok and Tencent-owned WeChat. ** At the close, the Hang Seng index fell 1.6% to 24,531.62, while the China Enterprises Index lost 1.4% to 10,063.43.

Hong Kong stocks ended lower on Friday and posted a fourth straight weekly drop, after the Trump administration unveiled a plan to ban U.S. transactions with ByteDance's TikTok and Tencent-owned WeChat.

** At the close, the Hang Seng index fell 1.6% to 24,531.62, while the China Enterprises Index lost 1.4% to 10,063.43. ** For the week, HSI shed 0.3%, its fourth weekly fall in a row, while HSCE firmed by 0.2%.

** U.S. President Donald Trump announced on Thursday sweeping bans on U.S. transactions with China's ByteDance, the owner of video-sharing app TikTok, and Tencent 0700.HK, the operator of WeChat, starting in 45 days. ** China firmly opposes the executive orders and will defend the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese businesses, foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin told a media briefing.

** Adding to pressure, Trump administration officials have also urged the president to delist Chinese companies that trade on U.S. exchanges and fail to meet U.S. auditing requirements by January 2022. ** Tech players led the losses, with the newly-launched Hang Seng tech index ending down 2.5%.

** Chinese tech giant Tencent's shares tumbled as much as 10.1%, following the U.S. ban but pared some losses to close 5% lower. ** However, investors found some relief in more signs of recovery in the world's second-largest economy and Beijing's continued policy support.

** China's economy appeared to be gathering pace in July as exports rose the most this year while some raw material imports hit record highs, adding to hopes for a more sustained recovery. ** China's central bank said on Thursday it would make its prudent monetary policy more flexible and targeted, and keep liquidity appropriately ample to support economic recovery.