HONG KONG – Hong Kong shares ended flat Monday, as investors await the release later this week of closely-watched Chinese manufacturing data.

The benchmark Hang Seng Index edged down 21.20 points to 23,200.32 on turnover of HK$53.37 billion (US$6.89 billion).

After spending the morning session in positive territory, the index suffered a heavy sell-off in the afternoon before bargain-hunting helped it recoup most of those losses by the end of the day.

There were few drivers for buying with a number of key economic indicators due out this week. Tuesday sees the release of June purchasing managers’ indices out of China, the eurozone and the United States.

There are hopes the figures will show a further rise in activity in global manufacturing following a recent uptick.

A preliminary report from HSBC earlier in the month showed growth in China for the first time this year.

Tuesday will also see the Bank of Japan’s quarterly Tankan survey of business confidence, the first since a sales tax hike on April 1.

Later in the week the US Labor Department unveils its jobs report for June, which will be pored over for clues about the state of the world’s number one economy.

The three main indices on Wall Street ended higher Friday thanks to a healthy earnings report from Nike. The Dow edged marginally higher, while the S&P 500 rose 0.19 percent and the Nasdaq put on 0.43 percent.

Internet firm Tencent slipped 0.76 percent to HK$117.5, HSBC eased 0.51 percent to HK$78.65 and casino operator Galaxy Entertainment jumped 4.09 percent to HK$62.3 while rival Sands China advanced 1.91 percent to HK$58.75.

In China, the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.59 percent, or 11.92 points, to 2,048.33 on turnover of 80.0 billion yuan ($12.9 billion).

The Shenzhen Composite Index, which tracks stocks on China’s second exchange, gained 0.90 percent, or 9.80 points, to 1,096.78 on turnover of 123.1 billion yuan.

“New shares boosted investor sentiment, which pulled up those shares listed earlier this year… Market sentiment is on the rise,” Zheshang Securities analyst Zhang Yanbing told AFP.

The Shenzhen market listed three companies last week, the first in a batch of 10 that regulators approved for initial public offerings after a four-month freeze.

For the newly listed firms, Longda Meat Foodstuff surged its 10 percent daily limit to 17.06 yuan, Xuelang Environmental Technology also jumped 10 percent to 25.66 yuan and Feitian Technologies rose 10 percent to 57.73 yuan.

Among other firms in Shanghai, China Eastern Airlines added 0.43 percent to HK$2.31, SAIC Motor eased 0.13 percent to HK$15.30 and Wuhan Iron & Steel put on 0.50 percent to HK$2.03.

In Shenzhen, property firm China Vanke lost 0.60 percent to HK$8.27 and telecoms giant ZTE gained 0.46 percent to HK$13.12.