Hong Kong Stocks Turn Down After China Housing Data

Hong Kong stocks lost their opening gains and turned lower in early trading Tuesday after data showing China's housing prices extended their fall in October helped to send the Hang Seng Index down 0.1%. Official data showed that new home prices dropped in 67 of China's top 70 cities from a year earlier, compared with 58 cities showing year-on-year declines in the previous month. Chinese property stocks posted wide losses, as Beijing North Star Co. retreated 3.6%, KWG Property Holding Ltd. slid 1.9%, Sunac China Holdings Ltd. lost 1.8%, and China Overseas Land & Investment Ltd. , a Hang Seng constituent, moved down 0.9%. However, most Hong Kong-focused developers bucked the weaker trend, with Cheung Kong Holdings Ltd. gaining 0.7%, and Sun Hung Kai Properties Ltd. rising 0.4%. Banks also fell, as China Citic Bank Corp. gave up 1.5%, China Merchants Bank Co. pulled back 0.9%, and China Minsheng Banking Corp. traded 0.8% lower. Over on the mainland, the Shanghai Composite Index lost 0.3%.