Hong Kong Stocks Finish Lower Amid Growing Anxiety

Hong Kong shares slipped on Thursday as Beijing's ramped-up rhetoric against Washington dashed hopes of an imminent resolution to the US-China trade war, deepening investor anxiety.

The Hang Seng Index fell 0.4 percent, or 120 points, to close at 27,114.

Turnover was HK$76.4 billion.

AIA shed around 2 percent, while Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing lost 1.5 percent.

Mainland banking shares, meanwhile, ended in positive territory after central bank chief Yi Gang pledged to do more to boost SME financing.

Across the border, the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index closed 0.3 percent lower, or 8 points, at 2,905, while the Shenzhen Composite Index lost 0.6 percent, or 9 points, to close at 1,532.

Elsewhere in Asia, Japan's Nikkei dropped almost 0.3 percent while Singapore ended almost 0.9 percent down. Sydney also shed over 0.7 percent.

Both Seoul and Taiwan, meanwhile, bucked the trend and added almost 0.8 percent. (Additional reporting by AFP)