Hong Kong stocks end lower amid intense protests

Hong Kong stocks ended lower on Monday, led by declines in property firms amid an increasing cycle of violence in the city, while investors counted down to a likely cut in U.S. interest rates this week.

** The Hang Seng index was down 1% at 28,106.41 points, while the China Enterprises Index lost 0.7% to 10,780.59 points. ** Protests in Hong Kong over the past two months spearheaded by anti-government activists against a proposed bill that would allow people to be extradited from the city to stand trial in courts in mainland China have grown increasingly violent.

** Developers led the decline, with the Hang Seng properties index slumping 2.2%. ** Around the region, MSCI's Asia ex-Japan stock index was weaker by 0.46%, while Japan's Nikkei index closed 0.19% weaker.

** The yuan was quoted at 6.8902 per U.S. dollar at 0815 GMT, 0.15% weaker than the previous close of 6.88. ** The top gainers among H-shares were Guangdong Investment Ltd up 2.2%, followed by China National Building Material Co Ltd, gaining 1.42% and Dongfeng Motor Group Co Ltd, up by 1.11%.

** The three biggest H-shares percentage decliners were Huatai Securities Co Ltd, which was down 2.61%, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Ltd, which ended 2.36% lower and Haitong Securities Co Ltd, down by 2.2%. ** At close, China's A-shares were trading at a premium of 29.11% over Hong Kong-listed H-shares.