Hong Kong shares drifted downward on Friday as losses on Wall Street spread to Asia.

The Hang Seng index fell 1.0 per cent to 24,103.52, while the China Enterprises Index lost 0.9 per cent to 12,076.74 points.

For the week, the Hang Seng rose 0.8 per cent and the China Enterprises Index was up 0.4 per cent.

US stocks fell for a fifth straight session Thursday as bank results disappointed and investors fretted over the potential impact of global economic weakness on US corporate earnings.

The premium between dual-listed companies on Chinese mainland markets and Hong Kong hit 132.77, its highest point since October 2011, as they once again moved in opposite directions.

Information technology shares led the Hang Seng Index lower, with Tencent Holdings down 3.9 per cent, while financials were the biggest drag on the China Enterprise Index.

China Overseas Land & Investment, which was down more than 5 per cent during the day on news the government froze the sales of one of its Shenzhen developments, regained ground to close down 2.8 per cent.

Among the most actively traded stocks on Hong Kong's main board were China National Culture Group, down 11.1 per cent at HK$0.12; Bank Of China, down 0.7 per cent at HK$4.44; and Semiconductor Manufacturing International, down 2.8 per cent at HK$0.70.

Chinese investment flowing from Shanghai into Hong Kong through the mutual market access pilot programme took up 10.5 billion yuan of the 10.5 billion yuan daily quota

Total trading volume of companies included in the HSI index was 1.7 billion shares.

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