Hong Kong stocks ran out of steam yesterday and finished slightly lower after six straight days of gains and an accumulated advance of more than 1,200 points over the past two weeks.
Lingering uncertainty about the impact of higher oil prices was partially blamed for the receding buying interest, while a drop in home sales last month cooled off high-flying property price expectations triggered by last week's successful land auction.
A fall in the Standard & Poor's index future also hurt sentiment as it suggested Wall Street would head lower when it reopened after a long weekend, while checks ordered by China's banking regulator into lending to certain sectors, including steel, aluminium, cement and property, was used to justify profit taking in H shares.
The thin trading volumes indicated selling pressure was quite light, however, and analysts said the market was likely to resume its upward trend after a short period of consolidation and range trading.
'In the morning, clients said they were looking to find further stimulus and in the meantime, people who were lucky enough to get in two weeks ago are securing profits,' said Trevor Cheung, head of research at DBS Vickers.
The Hang Seng Index fell 0.76 per cent, or 92.69 points, to 12,105.55, led by the property sub-index which lost 1.37 per cent.