BEIJING: Chinese stocks turned weaker shortly after a choppy start on Tuesday, as Hong Kong and Shanghai’s benchmark indexes struggled to maintain momentum after five days of gains.
The Hang Seng Index HSI, -0.80% fell 0.5% after touching a four-month high in the previous close. The Shanghai Composite Index SHCOMP, -2.17% also pulled back by 0.4% from its best closing level in more than five years. The falls came amid concerns fueled by the uncertainty of Greece’s future in the eurozone and a sharp drop for China’s yuan USDCNY, -0.01% the previous day despite reports saying that the People’s Bank of China had injected more liquidity into the markets Tuesday morning. Among the top-weighted index constituents in Hong Kong, China Mobile Ltd. 0941, -2.21% CHL, -0.66% declined 1.8%, and Tencent Holdings Ltd. 0700, -2.34% TCEHY, +3.45% dropped 0.5%, although Sino-British bank HSBC Holdings PLC 0005, +0.62% HBSC HSBA, +0.37% gained 0.7%. Mainland Chinese banks recorded broad-based losses, as China Merchants Bank Co. 3968, -3.13% CIHHF, -5.79% 600036, -2.59% lost 1.5%, China Citic Bank Corp. 0998, -1.85% CHBJF, +0.00% 601998, -2.90% fell 0.8%, Bank of China Ltd. 3988, -1.55% BACHY, -0.14% 601988, -4.18% retreated 0.7%, and Bank of Communications Co. 3328, -1.60% BKFCF, +16.90% 601328, -4.73% gave up 0.6%. Chinese oil giants headed lower on the back of sliding crude prices, with Cnooc Ltd. 0883, -0.76% CEO, -0.25% down 0.8%, PetroChina Co. 0857, -1.02% 601857, -3.82% PTR, +0.38% off 0.7%, and China Petroleum & Chemical Corp. (widely known as Sinopec) 0386, -0.48% SNP, -0.59% lower by 0.5%.
