Hong Kong - Hong Kong shares finished mixed on Friday as the market lost some of the bullishness whipped up earlier in the week by reduced expectations for an early increase in US interest rates.
The Hang Seng index fell 0.4 percent, to 24,375.24, but the China Enterprises Index gained 0.3 percent, to 12,156.40 points.
The markets had risen on Thursday after the US Federal Reserve indicated it was in no rush to raise rates. Any US monetary tightening could be transmitted to Hong Kong, as the Hong Kong dollar is pegged to the US dollar.
For the week, the Hang Seng index rose 2.3 percent, compared with rises of over 7.3 percent on Shanghai's benchmark stock index and 7.6 percent on the CSI300 index of the largest listed companies in Shanghai and Shenzhen.
Analysts say the Hong Kong market, vulnerable to possible US monetary tightening, is less attractive than mainland markets, which are relatively insulated due to tight capital controls.
Among the most actively traded stocks on Hong Kong's main board were China Mining, up 59.2 percent to HK$0.16 Ali Pictures, up 0.4 percent to HK$2.85 and China National Culture Group, down 6.0 percent to HK$0.14.
Total trading volume of companies included in the HSI index was 2.1 billion shares.
Reuters