Hong Kong stocks slouched on Wednesday in rough trade, with resource and telecom shares among the weak spots, kicking the Hang Seng Index down 0.1% to 23,152.81. As for mainland Chinese names, Hong Kong's Hang Seng China Enterprises Index slumped 0.1%, while the Shanghai Composite diminished 0.2% after steep declines the previous day. Weakness in hard-commodity prices weighed on some shares in Hong Kong, with Aluminum Corp. of China Ltd. relinquishing 1.4%, Jiangxi Copper Co. missed 0.6%, and Angang Steel Co. traded 0.2% lower. Telecoms fluctuated in early action but soon moved down, with China Mobile Ltd. off track 0.5%, while China Telecom Corp. and China Unicom Hong Kong Ltd. were lesser by 0.5%, as website 9to5Mac.com reported that most of Apple Inc.'s new iPhone5 models had sold out on the company's China website within minutes of going on sale, suggesting supply issues for the popular handsets. Property shares were also mixed after data released at the open of exchange showed Chinese new-home prices rallied during August in 66 of the 70 top cities, compared to advances in 62 major cities during July, according to Dow Jones Newswires. New World Development Co. climbed 0.7% in Hong Kong, and Sino Land Co. recorded a 0.2% increase, but China Resources Land Ltd. surrendered 0.7%. The picture for real-estate developers was a little better on the mainland, where Poly Real Estate Group Co. bolstered 0.2% and Gemdale Corp. exchanged 0.6% greater in Shanghai, while China Vanke Co. leaped 0.4% in Shenzhen. The Shanghai market was due to close Thursday and Friday for the Mid-Autumn Festival, with Hong Kong slated to shut on Friday only.
