Hong Kong shares close lower in cautious trade; China Eastern, BEA shine

Share prices closed lower amid geopolitical worries following the assassination of Pakistan opposition leader Benazir Bhutto, with investors also fretting about weak US economic data.

A fresh rise in oil prices added to the gloomy mood, while the settlement of December futures contracts also kept trade cautious.

Property stocks saw continued profit-taking after recent gains driven by a strong sector outlook.

China Eastern Airlines and Air China bucked the trend on hopes that a strengthening yuan will reduce debt servicing costs on their US-dollar denominated loans.

Among other bright spots, Bank of East Asia (BEA) was up after news that a unit of Spain's La Caixa is increasing its stake in the local lender to 8.89 pct from 4.34 pct.

The market will have a half-day session on Monday ahead of the New Year.

The Hang Seng index closed down 472.33 points or 1.7 pct at 27,370.60, off a low of 27,296.86 and high of 27,678.40. For the week, the index is down 256 points or 0.93 pct.

Turnover was low at 78.22 bln hkd.

The property sub-index fell 821.09 points or 2.19 pct to 36,664.82.

China Eastern was up 0.22 hkd or 3.13 pct at 7.26 and Air China rose 0.20 hkd or 1.88 pct to 10.86, while BEA was up 1.40 hkd or 2.72 pct at 52.90.