Hong Kong stocks fell for the third consecutive day on Friday owing to poor performance of shares of properties and financials.

The benchmark Hang Seng index closed down 210.45 points, or 0. 98 percent, at 21,244.49, after trading between a day high of 21, 442.77 and a day low of 21,232.15 points.

The turnover totaled 63.23 billion HK dollars (8.15 billion U. S. dollars), down from Thursday's 66.72 billion HK dollars.

The H-share index tumbled 1.32 percent to close at 12,168.18 points.

As investors were still worried over measures adopted by both the central Chinese government and the Hong Kong government to cool the sizzling property market, which was expected to reduce banks' profits, most financial heavyweights fell in the day.

Shares of the ICBC, the world's largest bank by market value, edged down 1 percent to close at 5.84 HK dollars. China Construction Bank, one of the country's four largest State-owned banks, fell 1.7 percent to close at 6.32 HK dollars per share.

Another major lender, Bank of China, was down 0.25 percent to close at 4.05 HK dollars each share.

The HSBC, one of the world's biggest banks, shed 1.58 percent to 81.1 HK dollars per share.

Heavyweight China Mobile, the world's largest mobile operator by subscribers, fell slightly 0.1 percent to close at 78.55 HK dollars. It was the third fall in three days after the Beijing- based company posted lower-than-expected first-quarter profits.

Shares of Cheung Kong Holding Ltd., a powerful Hong Kong developer controlled by billionaire Li Ka-shing, shed 0.91 percent to close at 98.05 HK dollars. Henderson Land, another major developer, fell 0.69 percent to 50.4 HK dollars.

Sun Hung Kai Property Ltd. fell 1.5 percent to 111.6 HK dollars. New World Developer and Sino Land fell 3.16 percent and 1.39 percent, respectively, to 14.12 HK dollars and 14.18 HK dollars per share.

Heavyweight China Mobile, the world's largest mobile operator by subscribers, edged down 0.44 percent to close at 78.6 HK dollars. It was the second fall in two days after the Beijing- based company posted lower-than-expected first-quarter profits.

Shares of Air China, the country's largest carrier, fell 1.31 percent to close at 8.31 HK dollars though the company had said its net profits in the first quarter of 2010 surged 121.33 percent year on year to 2.17 billion yuan (about 317.89 million U. S. dollars).

Rainbow Brothers Holdings Limited, a Hong Kong-based investment holding company, rose 7.53 percent to 3.14 HK dollars. It rocketed 83.65 percent to close at 2.92 HK dollars on Thursday, after the company said it would pay 3.244 billion HK dollars in a transaction regarding the acquisition of a 90-pct-stake in Harmonic Strait Credit Guarantee.

Harmonic Strait is a joint venture company that is licensed to carry on enterprise financing guarantee business in China's mainland.