Feb 22 (Reuters) - Hong Kong shares shed early gains to close 1% lower on Monday, as investors fretted over stretched valuations while concerns over the risks of policy tightening in China also weighed.
At the close of trade, the Hang Seng index was down 324.90 points or 1.06% at 30,319.83, reversing gains marked earlier in the day.
The Hang Seng China Enterprises index fell 1.76% to 11,893.68.
Tencent Holdings Ltd was the biggest drag in the Hang Seng index, falling 3.71% and pulling the IT sector 4.42% lower. The IT index hit a record high last week.
The financial sector ended 0.32% higher, lifted by HSBC Holdings, which rose 2.09% as the bank prepares to announce annual results and an updated "transformation plan".
Global equity investors have been unsettled by a rise in global bond yields, with benchmark German 10-year bond yields hitting an eight-month high on Monday, and U.S. Treasury yields touching one-year highs.
And while China left its benchmark lending rate for corporate and household loans unchanged for a 10th straight month on Saturday, speculation has been rising of a shift to tighter policy.
"Although the (People's Bank of China) has commented that it won't lift rates this year - seven-day repos and one-year CDs are almost unchanged - the authorities are certainly not generous with liquidity anymore," analysts at Jefferies said in a note.
China's main Shanghai Composite index closed down 1.45% at 3,642.44 points, while the blue-chip CSI300 index ended 3.14% lower.
Around the region, MSCI's Asia ex-Japan stock index was firmer by 0.19%, while Japan's Nikkei index closed up 0.46%.
The yuan was quoted at 6.4685 per U.S. dollar at 0822 GMT, 0.13% weaker than the previous close of 6.4598.
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