Hong Kong shares off 3-week high on coronavirus worries

Hong Kong stocks fell from a three-week high on Thursday as worries over the coronavirus outbreak heightened after the number of new confirmed cases and deaths soared in China's Hubei province.

** At the close of trade, the Hang Seng index was down 0.3% at 27,730, off its highest level since Jan. 24 hit earlier in the session. The Hang Seng China Enterprises index fell 0.5%.

** The sub-index of the Hang Seng tracking energy shares fell 0.8%, the financial sector ended 0.7% lower, the property sector edged up 0.3%, while the IT sector rose 1.1%.

** Hubei, the epicenter of the virus, reported a record rise in the daily death toll on and thousands of more cases on Thursday under a new diagnostic method, suggesting a much bigger crisis facing China and the world.

** The rise in the death toll, at 242, more than doubled the prior provincial daily record of 103 set on Monday, while the number of new cases soared by 14,840 - also a daily record - to a total of 48,206 cases.

** Hong Kong has extended the suspension of schools on Thursday until at least March 16 and told overseas students studying in the city there was no rush to return.

** Major shopping mall landlords in the city are offering cuts in February rent by as much as 60% to help tenants ride out the effects of the coronavirus outbreak.

** Hong Kong stocks could fall in the short term as the recent rally runs out of steam and amid uncertainty in Chinese economic growth, brokerage Guodu Hong Kong said in a note.

** China's main Shanghai Composite index and the blue-chip CSI300 index snapped a seven-day winning streak amid renewed fears of the coronavirus outbreak.

** Around the region, MSCI's Asia ex-Japan stock index fell 0.1% and Japan's Nikkei index closed down 0.1%.

** About 1.62 billion Hang Seng index shares were traded. The volume traded in the previous trading session was about 1.80 billion.

** At close, China's A-shares were trading at a premium of 23.62% over Hong Kong-listed H-shares.