HONG KONG: Hong Kong stocks dropped down in early Thursday trading due to weak trading in bank and energy shares.
The Hang Seng Index was 0.2% lower in initial moves, with the H-share index down 0.7%. While Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd. and Bank of Communications Co. each posted single-digit gains for their quarterly net profit, both also reported higher nonperforming loans.
China Mobile Ltd. added 0.8%, China Mengniu Dairy Co. rose 1.5%, and outside the Hang Seng Index, Jiangxi Copper Co. gained 2.4%. Over on the Chinese mainland, meanwhile, the Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.2% in early moves.
