Hong Kong stocks close 0.76% lower

Hong Kong stocks dropped for a second straight day on Wednesday, led by financial and property shares. The benchmark Hang Seng Index fell 181.77 points, or 0.76 percent, to close at 23,728.7, after trading between a day high of 23,846.84 points and a day low of 23,603.02 points. Turnover totaled 67.27 billion HK dollars (8.68 billion U.S. dollars) compared with Tuesday's 59.03 billion HK dollars. The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index retreated 79.57 points, or 0.7 percent, to close at 11,368.78. All four major sub-indices closed lower, with the Finance falling most by 0.93 percent. The Properties dipped 0.89 percent; The Utilities gave up 0.58 percent and the Commerce & Industry slid 0.55 percent. Property shares continued to post lackluster performance as Hong Kong's Financial Secretary John Tsang Chun-wah said on Monday that risks of a property bubble ensure the government will continue enacting cooling measures for the sectors. Sun Hung Kai, HK's largest property developer by market value, fell 1.06 percent at 98.15 HK dollars. Henderson, another leading property developer, dipped 1.21 percent at 44.9. Cheung Kong properties, a powerful HK-based developer controlled by billionaire Li Ka-shing, edged 0.4 percent lower to close at 123.4 HK dollars. Local financial stocks fell across the board. Banking giant HSBC, which accounts for the largest weighting of the Hang Seng Index, ended 1.22 percent lower at 85.4 HK dollars. Its local unit Hang Seng Bank notched a 0.24-percent decrease to close at 127 HK dollars. Bank of East Asia, another big bank in the city, dropped 0.88 percent to end at 33.95 HK dollars. Mainland lenders listed in Hong Kong also closed down. ICBC, China's largest bank by market value, edged down 1.25 percent at 5. 51 HK dollars. CCB, the country's second largest lender by market capitalization, ended 0.8 percent lower at 6.26 HK dollars. BOC, one of the "big four," retreated 0.81 percent at 3.69 HK dollars. PetroChina, the country's largest oil and gas producer, ended down 1.65 percent at 8.97 HK dollars. Sinopec, China's top refiner, slid 1.06 percent at 6.52 HK dollars.