Hong Kong Stocks Fall For Second Day On U.S. Losses

Tracking the U.S. markets' biggest decline in three weeks overnight, Hong Kong stocks headed toward a second day of losses on Wednesday morning, with the Hang Seng Index down 0.2%. Among the top-weighted stocks, Sino-British banking giant HSBC Holdings plc fell 0.7%, and Chinese online major Tencent Holdings Ltd. slipped 0.2%. Mainland Chinese banks mostly retreated, with China Citic Bank Corporation , which is owned by financial giant Citic Group, off 0.7%, after it posted a 3.8% year-on-year increase in net profit for 2014. Bank of Communications Co., Ltd. declined 1.3%, China Merchants Bank Co., Ltd. lost 0.6%, and Bank of China Ltd. shredded 0.5%. However, brokerage firm Citic Securities Co. Ltd. , another listed subsidiary of Citic Group, jumped 3.6%, after its earnings more than doubled last year. Over on the mainland, the Shanghai Composite Index gave up 1.2%.