ASIA MARKETS: Hong Kong Stocks Retreat As HSBC Slides

By Laura He, MarketWatch

Hong Kong stocks pulled back Wednesday, as a slide in the top-weighted HSBC Holdings PLC dragged the benchmark index lower, while investors also took a cautious stance after the Chinese central bank said it would maintain a steady monetary policy.

   The Hang Seng Index  ended 0.9% lower, with the Hang Seng China Enterprises   down 0.4%. 

The biggest drag came as banking major HSBC , which carries a more than 12% weighting on the Hang Seng, extended its weakness from previous sessions after a report on alleged tax evasion at its Swiss unit. Shares of HSBC tumbled 2.2%, while fellow London-based lender Standard Chartered plc slid 2.4%.

Major Chinese banks were mostly lower, after the People's Bank of China said in its quarterly report on Tuesday that it would keep monetary policy steady and create a "neutral and moderate" financial environment for China's economic restructuring.

China Construction Bank Corporation lost 1%, both Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Ltd. and Bank of China Ltd. fell 0.9%, Agricultural Bank of China Ltd. dropped 0.8%, while China Citic Bank Corporation Ltd. rose 0.4%.

Over on the mainland, the Shanghai Composite Index rose for a third day in a row, up 0.5%.

In other Asian markets, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 gave up 0.5%, while South Korea's Kospi Composite Index advanced 0.5%.

Japan markets were closed on Wednesday for a public holiday.

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