Hong Kong, Shanghai stocks end lower

Shares in Hong Kong and China tumbled on Tuesday after Standard & Poor's downgraded its rating outlook for the United States' sovereign debt.

Hong Kong's benchmark Hang Seng Index shed 1.30 per cent, or 309.69 points to 23,520.62 on turnover of HK$69.32 billion ($A8.5 billion).

The index has fallen for four consecutive sessions.

S&P on Monday challenged Washington's gold-star AAA-rated standard by lowering its outlook to "negative" from "stable", warning that politicians seemed unable to agree a plan to reduce the huge budget deficit.

The move sent stocks tumbling on Wall Street and across Europe. The losses continued in Asia, with the Dow falling 1.14 per cent in New York.

"The move from S&P is surprising and I think the local bourse will witness some pressure as it's likely to track the moves of regional markets," Sun Hung Kai Financial analyst Daniel So told Dow Jones Newswires.

Oil and commodity companies led the local index's decline on concerns that slowing global growth may affect demand.

Offshore oil producer CNOOC dropped 2.1 per cent to HK$18.90 and aluminum producer Chalco fell 1.4 per cent to HK$7.25.

Heavyweight HSBC fell 0.9 per cent to HK$81.60, accounting for 28.65 points of the index's decline, and ICBC was down 2.0 per cent at HK$6.43.

Chinese shares closed down 1.91 per cent. The Shanghai Composite Index, which covers both A and B shares, was down 58.29 points to 2,999.04 on turnover of 166.1 billion yuan ($A24.06 billion).

However Qiu Yanying, an analyst with TX Investment Consulting, told AFP the "impact won't last long as the Chinese stock market is relatively independent and China's economic fundamentals remain strong".

China Shenhua Energy tumbled 4.6 per cent to 29.32 yuan, Yanzhou Coal Mining shed 3.4 per cent to 34.90 yuan, and China Coal Energy fell 2.7 per cent to 10.83 yuan.

Inner Mongolia Baotou Steel Rare-Earth (Group) Hi-Tech lost 3.9 per cent to 84.51 yuan and Chalco slid 3.9 per cent to 11.23 yuan.

Henan Shuanghui Investment & Development, meanwhile, resumed trading on Tuesday after a suspension due to a food scandal, but shares immediately plunged by the 10 per cent daily trading limit to 70.15 yuan.

The meat processor suspended trading on March 16 after state media reported it purchased pig feed with the banned additive Clenbuterol.