Hong Kong stocks fall as virus worries linger

Hong Kong stocks dropped on Wednesday, in line with broader Asia, as worries persisted over the economic damage from the global coronavirus outbreak.

** At the close of trade, the Hang Seng index was down 517.69 points or 2.19% at 23,085.79. The Hang Seng China Enterprises index fell 1.98% to 9,404.98.

** The sub-index of the Hang Seng tracking energy shares dipped 1.9%, while the IT sector dipped 1.07%, the financial sector ended 2.91% lower and the property sector dipped 0.63%.

** Investors will continue to adopt a prudent strategy for now, as the coronavirus outbreak in the United States and European countries has not slowed significantly, brokerage Central China International noted in the report.

** China will step up fiscal and monetary policy adjustments to combat the impact of the virus outbreak, state media reported on Tuesday, quoting a cabinet meeting chaired by Premier Li Keqiang.

** China's factory activity improved in March after plunging a month earlier, a private survey showed, but the bare minimal growth highlighted the intense pressure facing businesses as the pandemic shuts down many countries.

** China's main Shanghai Composite index closed down 0.57% at 2,734.52 points, while the blue-chip CSI300 index ended down 0.3%.

** Around the region, MSCI's Asia ex-Japan stock index was weaker by 1.28%, while Japan's Nikkei index closed down 4.5%.

** The yuan was quoted at 7.1053 per U.S. dollar at 08:11 GMT, 0.34% weaker than the previous close of 7.081.

** At close, China's A-shares were trading at a premium of 26.98% over Hong Kong-listed H-shares.