HSI ends down 98 pts at 18,447 midday; turnover at HK$39.8bn

    HK stocks closed lower on Friday morning session in tandem with the slide of the Dow overnight, with the benchmark index paring early losses.
  The Hang Seng Index ended down 98 points to 18,447. The H-share index dropped 61 points to 7,596. Half-day turnover increased to HK$39.8 billion from HK$38.4 billion on Thursday.
  The southbound service of the the "Shanghai-HK Connect" program is being suspended during 4-14 February.
  Market heavyweights were mixed. China Mobile (00941) put on 1.04% to HK$82.85, while HSBC (00005) dipped 3.03% to HK$48.
  Macau gaming stocks bucked the trend after data showed Macau's visitor arrivals rose 5.2% year-on-year during the Chinese New Year from 7 to 10 February. Sands China (01928) gained 3.09% to HK$25 while Wynn Macau (01128) rose 3.07% to HK$7.73. Galaxy Ent (00027) shot up 4.21% to HK$23.5, making itself the top blue-chip gainer.
  Oil majors rebounded on news that some OPEC countries are trying to achieve a consensus among the group and key non-members for an oil production "freeze". CNOOC (00883) rose 1.74% to HK$7.58. PetroChina (00857) gained 2.01% to HK$4.56 while Sinopec (00386) put on 1.46% to HK$4.16.