Hong Kong shares edge lower as financials fall

Hong Kong shares edged lower on Wednesday, dragged down by financials, while tech giants rose after state media said regulations related to the country's industries were to promote their development.

Hong Kong shares edged lower on Wednesday, dragged down by financials, while tech giants rose after state media said regulations related to the country's industries were to promote their development. ** The Hang Seng index fell 0.1%, to 26,320.93, while the China Enterprises Index lost 0.2%, to 9,449.39 points.

** State media outlet People's Daily said on Wednesday regulations on the country's industries were to promote their healthy development and China's long-term economic policy remains unchanged. ** The financials sub-index dropped 0.5%, while the consumer staples sub-index and the energy sub-index both were down 0.7%.

** Cordless power tools manufacturer Techtronic Industries Co slumped 5.2%, the biggest daily decliner on the Hang Seng index, and it dragged the benchmark index down 26 points. ** Gaming and social-media giant Tencent Holdings, food-delivery giant Meituan, and e-commerce giant Alibaba Group finished up 1.8%, 1.4%, and 0.5%, respectively.

** China Evergrande Group rose 3.9% before falling more than 2% in morning trading after Fitch Ratings cut the ratings of the indebted developer and two of its subsidiaries on Wednesday, the latest in a series of downgrades targeting the group.