Hong Kong Stocks Finish Lower

Hong Kong stocks closed with small losses on Monday following recent gains, with traders shrugging off a strong lead from Wall Street and signs that the rate of new coronavirus infections globally is easing.

The Hang Seng Index dipped 0.2 percent, or 49 points, at 24,330.

Sino Biopharmaceutical was the biggest gainer, rising 2.9 percent, while the biggest loser was Sun Hung Kai Properties, which fell by the same percentage.

Across the border, authorities cut the benchmark lending rate in order to reduce borrowing costs and prop-up the economy, which contracted for the first time in decades.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.5 percent, or 14 points, to 2,852, while the Shenzhen Composite Index on China's second exchange added 1 percent, or 17 points, to 1,767.

Elsewhere in the region, Japan closed down 1.1 percent, South Korea was down four-fifths of a percent, and Taiwan dropped a tenth of a percent.

Investors are looking ahead to a busy week of corporate earnings reports and economic data that they expect hammer home the extensive economic damage done by the global coronavirus-led lockdowns.

Analysts at Guodu Hong Kong say local companies will start to publish their results for the first quarter, with most expected to record relatively big losses, which could dampen market sentiment. (Reuters/AFP)