HONG KONG, March 29 (Reuters) - Hong Kong stocks on Tuesday ended flat in low volume, with gains in energy counters offset by losses in the financial sector in choppy quarter end trading.
The benchmark Hang Seng Index reversed midday gains, ending down 0.03 percent at 23,060.36, with trading volume three-quarters of its 30-day average. The China Enterprises Index of top locally listed mainland companies finished down 0.2 percent.
The Shanghai Composite Index closed down 0.87 percent at 2,958.08, weighed down by investors selling off small cap shares while the index failed to breach a key psychological resistance level.
HIGHLIGHTS
* Property and financial stocks lost ground, with Bank of China Ltd , HSBC Holdings Plc and Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Ltd all lower.
* But financial counters generally traded more positively in Shanghai, with an analyst saying that compared with H-shares, A-shares of dual-listed Chinese banks were cheaper and more likely to rally.
* Gains in CNOOC Ltd , China Shenhua Energy Co Ltd and PetroChina Co Ltd lent support. Energy and commodities counters were seen as safer bets in directionless markets, said an analyst. An anticipated increase in Japanese demand for more traditional energy was expected to favor traditional and non-traditional energy counters.
* Trading in shares of First Pacific Co Ltd was suspended on Tuesday, the Hong Kong exchange said without giving details. First Pacific was up 1.42 percent at HK$6.44 prior to the suspension. [ID:nL3E7ET0LN]
* Brilliance China Automotive Holdings Ltd gained 5.3 percent on the day, after climbing as much as 9.0 percent after reporting a return to profit for 2010.
DAY AHEAD:
* Bank of Communications Co Ltd , China Eastern Airlines Corp Ltd and Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Ltd are expected to announce their 2010 earnings on Wednesday.
* Japan's nuclear crisis remains unresolved and is seen by analysts as a bigger market mover than the geopolitical crisis in the Middle East and North Africa.
(Reporting by Clement Tan; Editing by Chris Lewis)
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