Hong Kong stocks fell for third day; index down 1%

Hong Kong stocks fell for a third straight day on Friday, as the mainland's recent weaker-than- expected economic data stoked fears for the world's second biggest economy and unstable world situation dampened investors' confidence. The benchmark Hang Seng index slid 216.59 points, or 1 percent, to close at 21,539.49, after trading between 21,630 and 21,462. Turnover totaled 69.08 billion HK dollars (about 8.9 billion U.S. dollars), up from 63.32 billion HK dollars on the previous trading day. The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index lost 24.29 points, or 0. 26 percent, to close at 9,298.64. All the four sub-indices lost ground. The Finance dipped 0.43 percent; the Commerce & Industry retreated 1.59 percent; the Properties dropped 1.33 percent; the Utilities edged down 0.39 percent. Blue-chip stocks led the declines. New World Development Co. plunged 14.03 percent to close at 8.27 HK dollars. Tencent Holdings dropped 4.08 percent to end at 564 HK dollars. Cathay Pacific declined 2.06 percent at 15.18 HK dollars. Local property developers fell across the board. Henderson Land Development, a leading developer in Hong Kong, ended 0.48 percent lower at 41.45 HK dollars. SHK, another major developer in Hong Kong, lost 0.43 percent at 91.65 HK dollars. Cheung Kong Holding, a powerful HK-based developer controlled by billionaire Li Ka- shing, dropped 1.31 percent at 120.8 HK dollars. Banking giant HSBC, which accounts for the largest weighting of the Hang Seng Index, edged down 0.38 percent at 77.7 HK dollars. Its local unit Hang Seng Bank closed down 1.16 percent at 119.5 HK dollars. Bank of East Asia, another Hong Kong's major bank, fell 0. 99 percent to 29.85 HK dollars. Local bourse operator HKEX declined 1.28 percent at 115.5 HK dollars.