24.06.201304:23:53UTC+00Hong Kong stocks pull back; China banks decline

Hong Kong stocks continues to drop Monday on lingering worries over Chinese economic progress amid a recent surge in Shanghai interbank interest rates, with financial shares suffering steep losses. The Hang Seng Index missed 1.3% to 20,006.16, looking set for a fifth straight day of drops, and the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index surrendered 1.7% to 9,079.37. Shares of Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd. retreated 1.7% and China Life Insurance Co. skidded 1.9%, while heavyweight HSBC Holdings PLC sank 1.4%. Among other notable losers, footwear major Belle International Holdings Ltd. relinquished 4.4%, China Shenhua Energy Co. traded 2.9% lower and refiner China Petroleum & Chemical Corp., or Sinopec, pulled 2.1% back. China's Shanghai Composite inched down 1% to 2,052.62.