HONG KONG (Nikkei Markets) -- Hong Kong shares reversed intraday gains to fall for the first time in four days amid mild trading, after banking heavyweight HSBC Holdings reported weaker-than-expected earnings.
The Hang Seng Index lost 0.8% to 30,873.63 after rising as high as 31,339.69 earlier in the day. HSBC, the London-headquartered lender that has the highest weighting on the 51-member benchmark, reversed morning gains to end 3.1% lower at HK$80.95 and was the biggest drag by points on the gauge. The reversal came as reported pretax profit of $17.17 billion for 2017 fell short of estimates, and the bank's net interest income contracted for a sixth straight year.
