Hong Kong stocks ended lower yesterday, as investors reassessed their positions following Monday's sharp rally.
Stocks that have been hot over the past few days saw profit-taking, while laggards were subject to increased buying interest.
Overall, yesterday's downturn was a healthy correction, analysts said, and would allow the market to gather steam ahead of another rise later this week.
Ricky Tam, senior research analyst at Delta Asia Securities, said: 'From a technical point of view, the market should have a small correction, but the up trend has not finished yet.' The Hang Seng Index ended the day at 12,106.76, down 26.31 points, a loss of only 0.2 per cent.
The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index, which tracks H shares, fell a steeper 1.5 per cent.
Turnover was $7.1 billion, down from a revised $8.5 billion on Monday.
The futures market remained more bullish through the day, with October contracts ending at a 30-point premium to cash.
