HK shares hit by U.S. recession fears, HKEx slides

(For Shanghai stock market reports, click [.SS])
(Adds Friday midday close, details)

By Rita Chang

HONG KONG, Feb 22 (Reuters) - Hong Kong stocks fell on Friday
as weak U.S. economic data sparked fears that the world's biggest
economy may be in recession, prompting investors to sell across
the board.

Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEx) (0388.HK: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), one of the
morning's top-traded stocks, sank further amid slumping turnover
and a broker downgrade.

"People just don't want to put their money to work in the
market," said Dale Tsang, managing director at Imperial Dragon
Asset Management.

"Every time you buy in, you lose money. You get your fingers
burned. So you have a contraction in turnover. When momentum
slows, it doesn't attract money, unless there's value."

The benchmark Hang Seng Index .HSI had fallen 1.8 percent
to 23,188.25 by midday. The China Enterprises Index of Hong
Kong-listed mainland companies .HSCE, or H shares, dropped 2.4
percent to 13,241.44.

Mainboard turnover was HK$39.9 billion (US$5.1 billion),
compared with Thursday morning's HK$41.2 billion.

HKEx dropped a further 3.7 percent to HK$147.60. Goldman
Sachs downgraded the stock to neutral from buy, saying a slowing
Chinese economy and a possible U.S. recession would likely dampen
market sentiment. Goldman has also removed the stock from its
conviction buy list [ID:nHKG18231].

Some metal stocks were firm, supported by rallies in gold and
copper. Jiangxi Copper (0358.HK: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) jumped nearly 4 percent to
HK$18.98 after copper prices hit 21-month highs.

Gold plays made further gains after gold prices set another
record. Zijin Mining (2899.HK: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) climbed 1 percent to HK$10.30.

Aluminum Corp of China (Chalco) (2600.HK: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), the country's top
alumina producer, gained 2 percent to HK$15.24.

Investors sold shipping stocks, seen as a proxy for demand in
the overall global economy. China COSCO (1919.HK: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) tumbled 5.4
percent to HK$21.10 and Pacific Basin (2343.HK: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) slumped 4.9
percent to HK$11.30.

Shares in Hong Kong property developers underperformed a day
after HSBC Holdings (0005.HK: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) said the city's banks may not
follow any further rate cuts in the United States.

The Hang Seng subindex of property shares .HSNP fell nearly
3 percent. Cheung Kong (Holdings) Ltd (0001.HK: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) dropped 3 percent
to HK$111.3. Henderson Land (0012.HK: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) declined 4.1 percent to
HK$58.
(US$1=HK$7.8)
(Editing by Edmund Klamann)