ASIA MARKETS: Hong Kong Stocks Retreat On Casino Rout

By Laura He, MarketWatch

Japan stocks snap losing string

HONG KONG (MarketWatch) -- Hong Kong stocks fell on Thursday to their lowest settlement in nearly two weeks, as casino shares suffered heavily across the board.

The Hang Seng Index ended down 0.8% at 24,387.56, marking its second day of losses.

Macau casino operator Galaxy Entertainment Corp. sank 6.4%, while rival Sands China skidded 5.8%. The pair, both of which are index components, have recently seen employees protest over benefits and pay, and the sector has suffered this week in the wake of weak gambling-revenue numbers for Macau.

Other underperformers in the sector included Wynn Macau , diving 7.6%, MGM China Holdings , down 6.3%, Melco Crown Entertainment , off 4.8%, and SJM Holdings , falling 3.4%.

Standard Chartered PLC lost 0.8%, after the British bank said it might face another fine from U.S. regulators over its money-laundering controls.

In other Asian markets, Japan's Nikkei Average finished higher by 0.5%, snapping a five-session string of losses, as a Reuters report said Japan's Government Pension Investment Fund, one of the world's largest pension funds, plans to increase its allocation to domestic stocks to over 20%.

The broader Topix index advanced 0.6%, while the yen (USDJPY) weakened to Yen102.32 per dollar from Yen102.11 on Wednesday.

Elsewhere, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 dipped 0.1%, South Korea's Kospi Composite Index dropped 0.3%, while mainland China's Shanghai Composite Index tumbled 1.3%.

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