Hong Kong Shares Suffer Fresh Losses

Hong Kong shares extended losses on Tuesday on growing geopolitical fears after the weekend attack on Saudi oil facilities, while traders were also on edge over increasingly violent protests that have rocked the city for months.

The Hang Seng Index ended the day down 334 points or 1.2 percent at 26,790.

Market turnover was more than HK$68 billion.

Shares of Sinopec slumped 3.5 percent after Monday's surge. PetroChina eased 0.2 percent, and CNOOC ended flat.

Shares of the MTR dropped 1.3 percent after credit ratings agency Moody's downgraded its credit outlook on the company to negative.

Shares of FIH Mobile, formerly known as Foxconn, slumped 20 percent after its founder Terry Gou said he would not contest Taiwan's presidential election next year.

On the mainland, the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index fell 1.7 percent, or 52 points, to 2,978 and the Shenzhen Composite Index fell 2 percent, or 33 points, to 1,651.

Japan's Nikkei 225 index recovered from early losses to edge 0.1 percent higher at 22,001, and South Korea's Kospi was flat at 2,062.

Elsewhere in Asia, shares lost ground in Taiwan and Singapore, but rose in Indonesia and Thailand. (Additional reporting by AFP)