Hong Kong stocks fall after Wall Street tech rout

Hong Kong stocks ended lower on Wednesday, dragged down by tech shares following a tech rout on the Wall Street. ** At the close of trade, the Hang Seng index was down 155.41 points or 0.63% at 24,468.93.

Hong Kong stocks ended lower on Wednesday, dragged down by tech shares following a tech rout on Wall Street.

** At the close of trade, the Hang Seng index was down 155.41 points or 0.63% at 24,468.93. The Hang Seng China Enterprises index fell 1.04% to 9,728.52. ** The sub-index of the Hang Seng tracking energy shares slipped 1.5%, while the IT sector slid 1.61%, the financial sector ended 0.66% lower and the property sector dipped 0.13%.

** The top gainer in the Hang Seng was Hong Kong and China Gas Co Ltd, which gained 2.5%, while the biggest loser was China Mengniu Dairy Co Ltd, which fell 3.99%. ** Tech shares led the declines. The Hang Seng tech index lost 1.5%, down for the fifth session in a row.

** The Hang Seng index faced pressure as investors sold tech firms amid a U.S. selloff and persistent Sino-U.S. tensions, KGI Securities noted in the report, adding the index could find support at 24,000 points. ** The brokerage noted limited room for a further rally in China's domestic banks listed in Hong Kong given the heavy pressure from bad loans in the coming quarters.

** On the mainland, China stocks dropped the most in six weeks on Wednesday. ** The major concerns are lofty valuations and the uncertainties around Sino-U.S. tensions, said Luo Kun, director of macro strategy center at Chasing Securities.

** Any major corrections in the U.S. stock market, where there is a relatively big tech bubble following stellar gains, would also put pressure on China's start-up firms and wider tech players, Luo said. ** Around the region, MSCI's Asia ex-Japan stock index was weaker by 0.33%, while Japan's Nikkei index closed down 1.04%.

** The yuan was quoted at 6.8456 per U.S. dollar at 08:25 GMT, 0.02% firmer than the previous close of 6.847.