Hong Kong Stocks Head Toward Third Straight Loss

Hong Kong stocks dropped further Wednesday morning, heading for a third straight day of declines, as the Hang Seng Index lost 0.3%. Investors failed to use up all of the investment quota for the Hong Kong-Shanghai Stock Connect scheme on Tuesday, dampening the shares of Hong Kong Exchange & Clearing Ltd. , which fell 1% Wednesday morning. Hong Kong jeweler Chow Tai Fook Jewellery Group Ltd. dropped 1.3%, as its same-store sales in Hong Kong decreased 24% from a year earlier, impacted by the political demonstrations in the city. Rival Chow Sang Sang Holdings International Ltd. dipped 0.1%. Cosmetics retailer Bonjour Holdings Ltd. declined 2.1%. Among major blue chips, telecoms giant China Mobile Ltd. lost 0.7%, Asian life insurer AIA Group slipped 0.2%, and Chinese online major Tencent Holdings Ltd. nudged lower by 0.1%. Oil stocks mostly fell as international crude prices dropped, with state-owned oil producers PetroChina Co. and Cnooc Ltd. both retreating 0.9%. Other energy plays also suffered significant losses, as China Oilfield Services Ltd. gave up 2.9%, piped-gas company China Gas Holdings Ltd. pulled back 1.7%, and rival China Oil & Gas Group Ltd. traded 0.9% lower. Over on the Chinese mainland, the Shanghai Composite Index moved down 0.1%.