HSI Gives Up Gains To End Fractionally Lower

Shares in Hong Kong failed to keep their early gains on Tuesday, as traders waited for key US inflation data later in the week for clues on how long the loose-monetary policy environment will stay.

The Hang Seng Index started 113 points higher, but turned around to dip into the red before lunchtime. It lost as many as 148 points before recouping the losses to finish down five points, at 28,781, on turnover of HK$122.6 billion.

BYD Company, just added into the benchmark this week, soared 6.3 percent, after reports said the Warren Buffet-backed mainland carmaker was in talks with Apple over the supply of electric vehicle batteries.

Property shares also fared well. Link REIT jumped 1.9 percent. China Resources Land and Country Garden each put on 1.5 percent. Sun Hung Kai Properties was up one percent.

The biggest blue-chip loser was Sunny Optical, which tumbled 3.8 percent.

China Evergrande continued its climb following a recovery the day before, adding 2.2 percent, after the cash-strapped mainland developer disclosed in an exchange filing that it had spent HK$336 million to buy back its shares.

Across the border, the Shanghai Composite index shed 0.5 percent, while the blue-chip CSI300 index and the Shenzhen Composite each retreated 0.9 percent.

Around the region, Japan's Nikkei slipped 0.2 percent. The Kospi in South Korea inched down 0.1 percent. Taiwan was marginally lower and Singapore was 0.3 percent weaker.

But Australia was up 0.2 percent.