Hong Kong stocks close 0.88% lower

Hong Kong stocks ended 0.88 percent lower on Monday, with the benchmark Hang Seng index falling 204.40 points to end at 22,928.95 points, after trading between 22,884.00 and 23,089.00. Turnover totaled 66.09 billion HK dollars (about 8.52 billion U. S. dollars). The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index fell 127.12 points, or 1. 25 percent, to close at 10,040.16. Four sub-indices all lost ground, with the Finance sub-index falling the most by 1.08 percent, followed by the Properties 0.77 percent, the Commerce and Industry 0.72 percent and the Utility 0. 54 percent. Banking giant HSBC, which accounts for the largest weighting of the Hang Seng Index, fell 0.1 percent to 85.75 HK dollars, while its local unit Hang Seng Bank closed 1.2 percent lower at 122.80 HK dollars. Bank of East Asia, another Hong Kong's major bank, closed down 2.5 percent at 31.35 HK dollars. Local bourse operator HKEX lost 0.8 percent to 127.20 HK dollars. Local developers Hang Lung Properties was down 2.0 percent at 24.10 HK dollars. Henderson Land, another major developer in Hong Kong, decreased 1.0 percent to 44.50 HK dollars, and Cheung Kong Holding, a powerful HK-based developer controlled by billionaire Li Ka-shing, retreated 0.9 percent to 120.60 HK dollars. As for mainland-based financial stocks, China Construction Bank, the country's second largest bank which accounts for the third largest weighting of the Hang Seng Index, slid 1.8 percent to 5.39 HK dollars. ICBC, the world's largest bank by market value, decreased 2.0 percent at 4.78 HK dollars. Bank of China lost 0.9 percent at 3.36 HK dollars. Bank of Communications, China's fifth biggest lender measured by assets, went down 1.3 percent to 5.13 HK dollars. PetroChina, the country's largest oil and gas producer, was down 0.6 percent at 8.05 HK dollars. (1 U.S. dollar equals 7.761 HK dollars)