HK stocks end 0.26% lower

HONG KONG, Dec. 13 (Xinhua) -- Hong Kong stocks fell 57.77 points, or 0.26 percent, to close at 22,445.58 on Thursday.

The benchmark Hang Seng Index traded between 22,563.14 and 22, 380.78. Turnover totaled 62.49 billion HK dollars (about 8.06 billion U.S. dollars), compared with Wednesday's 64.02 billion HK dollars.

The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index dropped 18.64 points, or 0.17 percent, to close at 11,142.92.

Three of the four sub-indices lost ground, with the Utilities sub-index dropping the most by 1.83 percent, followed by the Properties by 1.04 percent, the Commerce & Industry by 0.18 percent. The Finance edged up 0.04 percent.

Banking giant HSBC, which accounts for the largest weighting of the Hang Seng Index, rose 0.38 percent to 80.25 HK dollars, while its local unit Hang Seng Bank lost 0.42 percent to 117.60 HK dollars. Bank of East Asia, another Hong Kong's major bank, closed down 0.67 percent to 29.70 HK dollars. Local bourse operator HKEX gained 0.92 percent to 131 HK dollars.