HK shares slide 5 pct on grim data; HSBC plunges

(Updates with official closing figures)

By Nerilyn Tenorio

HONG KONG, Dec 2 (Reuters) - Hong Kong shares tumbled nearly 5 percent on Tuesday, with Chinese financial and property stocks leading the slide, as grim manufacturing data from mainland China and the U.S. fuelled fears of a deepening global recession.

The benchmark Hang Seng Index .HSI closed down 702.99 points or 4.98 percent at 13,405.85, led by a 6.4 percent slide in global lender HSBC Holdings (0005.HK), which had jumped 9.5 percent in the last six trading days.

Energy stocks such as oil producers CNOOC (0883.HK) and PetroChina (0857.HK) plunged 8.5 and 6.6 percent, respectively, as crude oil prices stood around $47.85 a barrel in morning trade on Tuesday, the lowest since May 2005 and almost $100 off the record $147.27 peak reached in July.

A total of HK$38.5 billion ($4.97 billion) worth of shares were traded, down from HK$43.9 billion on Monday.

The China Enterprise index of Hong Kong-listed Chinese companies .HSCE finished down 5.3 percent at 7,002.48.

"The manufacturing sector seems to have a big problem," said Castor Pang, a strategist with Sun Hung Kai Financial.

Factory activity in the United States fell in November to its weakest since 1982, the Institute for supply Management [ID:nL1566758] said. The data jolted investors, who got news of weaker Chinese and European manufacturing activity on Monday.

But Pang said although the latest Chinese manufacturing data was also poor, weaker production could trigger another rate cut later this month.

"The European Central Bank and the Bank of England will also have discussions on interest rates soon, and that leads to a higher probability for an interest rate cut on the mainland later this month," he said.

JP Morgan analyst Ebru Sener Kurumlu said Hong Kong's October retail sales volume suggested private consumption had weakened sharply amid the fast deteriorating external environment and domestic economy and he expected private consumption to suffer more in coming months.

The most actively traded stock, China Life (2628.HK), lost 4.2 percent.

China's top lender, ICBC (1398.HK), fell 3.8 percent despite hopes that lower interest rates in China would spur the domestic economy and help sustain demand for loans and other financial services.

China Construction Bank (0939.HK) retreated 4.21 percent. The No. 3 mainland lender will extend 400 billion to 500 billion yuan in new loans in 2009, an increase of 13-15 percent over this year's levels, and about half of the loans would go to basic infrastructure projects, a Chinese newspaper reported. [ID:nPEK359888]

Property stocks also weighed, with investors locking in gains after recent strength fuelled by optimism of brisk sales in coming months due to easing borrowing costs and after Sun Hung Kai Properties' (0016.HK) latest flats sales drew an overwhelming response.

Sun Hung Kai Properties finished down, but with losses pared to 5.5 percent from 8.4 percent at midday. Cheung Kong (0001.HK) fell 2.5 percent, Henderson Land (0012.HK) skidded 5.8 percent, while smaller rival Sino Land (0083.HK) plunged 9.6 percent.

"The political unease in Thailand may have affected the property and hotel businesses controlled by some Hong Kong companies in the country," Taifook Securities said in a research note.

Sentiment toward the property sector was further eroded after the city's major lender, HSBC (0005.HK), raised its mortgage rate in Hong Kong by up to 75 basis points on concerns over higher lending risks amid the deepening credit crisis. [ID:nHKG215149] (Editing by Anne Marie Roantree)