Update | Hong Kong stocks down midday as fall in oil prices hits producers; Shanghai up

Hong Kong stocks declined by midsession on Wednesday morning as weakness in Chinese oil majors offset the gains posted by banking and manufacturing script after Beijing announced a 10-year strategic plan to support the upgrading of the nation’s manufacturing sector.

The benchmark Hang Seng Index lost 0.20 per cent, or 55.17 points, to 27,638.37, although the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index added 0.47 per cent to 14,258.06.

The Shanghai Composite Index added 1.33 per cent, or 58.54 points, to 4,476.09.

“From a valuation perspective, the Chinese A share market is trading at a par with the US, but if you look at China, the story is quite different. H shares are trading at just above 10 times, so there is still a huge discount to historical average,” said Winnie Chiu, senior director at Markets & Investment Solutions at Credit Agricole Private Banking.

Chinese oil companies retreated as oil futures fell in New York overnight to US$57.26 per barrel and a Goldman Sachs report forecast the price of oil could drop to as low as US$45 per barrel in October.

CNOOC fell 1.13 per cent to HK$12.26, a one-month low.