Hong Kong stocks start the week in red following a decline in manufacturing growth, with investors advocating for stronger measures from the policy makers amid deflation and export barriers concerns.

The Hang Seng Index fell 0.36%, or 71.98 points, to close at 19,688.29 on Monday. The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index also dropped 0.33%, or 23.80 points, to end at 7,135.48.

Hong Kong's private sector continued to grow in December 2024, but at a slower pace compared with November 2024. Hong Kong's Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) posted 51.1 during the month, slightly down from 51.2 in the preceding month, according to S&P Global report released Monday.

Meanwhile, the Hong Kong government will focus on reducing its expenditures as it expects a fiscal deficit of about 100 billion yuan, Financial Secretary Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po said in his blog Sunday.

In market news, Sunac China (HKG:1918) dropped over 14% with Meituan (HKG:3690) dropping nearly 2% and Tencent's (HKG:0700) sliding over 1%. On the other hand, Ubtech Robotics (HKG:9880) closed nearly 11% higher while most of the big players in the market barely stayed in green on Monday.

Tencent's share capital reached 9,224,914,953 shares. The internet giant's share capital is the lowest since a 1-to-5 stock split in May 2014, Yicai Global reported the same day.