Hong Kong Stocks Finish Lower As Jitters Continue

Local and most regional stocks closed lower on Tuesday as global trade tensions continued to weigh on market sentiment.

Fears of an economic slowdown have intensified in recent days as US President Donald Trump threatened Mexico with additional tariffs, and the trade war between China and the United States showed no sign of a resolution.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index fell half a percent, or 132 points, to close at 26,761.

Turnover was a thin HK$78.3 billion.

Mainland insurance firms ended in the red, with China Life Insurance plunging 2.2 percent, and Ping An Insurance losing 1.6 percent.

Chinese telecoms infrastructure firm China Tower, however, bucked the downward trend and gained over 3.8 percent after Beijing said it will push forward 5G development.

Across the border, the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index shed 1 percent, while Shenzhen lost 1.4 percent.

Elsewhere across Asia, Tokyo's Nikkei index fell for a fifth consecutive session as a higher yen and concern about the global economy weighed on the market.

South Korea also edged down slightly, while Taiwan dropped 0.7 percent.

But Singapore rose 0.5 percent and Australia added 0.2 percent.