Hong Kong Stocks End The Week In Red

Hong Kong stocks finished lower on Friday, in line with an Asia-wide retreat following a rout on Wall Street fuelled by worries over the global economic recovery and signs of a new wave of US infections.

The Hang Seng Index shed 0.7 percent, to 24,301.

On the mainland, the Shanghai Composite Index ended flat at 2,919 but the Shenzhen Composite Index rose 0.3 percent, to 1,870.

Equities and oil sank in Asia while the US dollar rallied as investors ran for the hills following the worst Wall Street rout since March, fuelled by worries about the economic recovery and a second virus wave in the US.

Tokyo lost 0.8 percent, while Sydney, Mumbai, Singapore and Bangkok all fell between 1 and 2 percent. Wellington and Seoul were more than 2 percent lower.

Still, the losses were shallower than earlier in the day and much lighter than on Wall Street on Thursday, where all three main indexes were routed.

Analysts also blamed profit-taking after the huge run-up since March, which has seen some indexes rise more than 50 percent, with many saying investors had run ahead of themselves on hopes for a V-shaped recovery.

"There is an argument to be made that equities were due a decent correction in light of the gains made in the past three months," said David Madden of CMC Markets.

"On the other hand, economies can't stay locked down forever so a jump in the infection rate is going to be the cost of trying to get things back to normal." (AFP)