Reuters| Hong Kong | China
Hong Kong stocks fell on Friday, tracking other Asian markets' declines on worries over next week's U.S. presidential election and a shaky global economic outlook, but strength in tech companies led to monthly gains.
** At the close of trade, the Hang Seng index was down 1.95% at 24,107.42. The Hang Seng China Enterprises index fell 1.96% to 9,760.24. ** The sub-index of the Hang Seng tracking energy shares dipped 1.3%, while the IT sector dipped 2.29%, the financial sector ended 2.33% lower and the property sector dipped 0.56%.
** For the month, HSI added 2.8%, while HSCE climbed 3.9%. ** Record numbers of coronavirus cases worldwide and the Nov. 3 U.S. presidential election remained the major focus for investors. On Wednesday, global coronavirus cases rose by more than 500,000 for the first time, with France and Germany prepping fresh lockdowns.
** China will set detailed economic targets for 2021-2025 to help promote higher quality growth, following a meeting of top Chinese leaders, the vice head of the country's state planner said on Friday. ** China aims for sustained and healthy economic development in the next five years, with an emphasis on higher quality growth, the ruling Communist Party's Central Committee said in a communique published on Thursday, after a conclave.
** Leading the gains for the month, the Hang Seng tech index gained 6.3% in October. ** Alibaba's Hong Kong shares rose 6.4% for the month ahead of Ant Group's IPO, while tech giant Tencent jumped 15.5%.
** Around the region, MSCI's Asia ex-Japan stock index was weaker by 0.28%, while Japan's Nikkei index closed down 1.52%. ** The yuan was quoted at 6.699 per U.S. dollar at 08:30 GMT, 0.25% firmer than the previous close of 6.7161.
(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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