Hong Kong stocks close lower Thursday

Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index market ended lower Thursday with the benchmark Hang Seng Index down 0.39 percent to close at 25,213.31 points.

The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index dropped 0.77 percent to end at 8,385.24 points, and the Hang Seng Tech Index lost 1.08 percent to end at 4,468.48 points.

Russia claimed on Wednesday that its forces had seized a strategic settlement in the Kharkiv region, while Ukraine denied the claim, saying fierce fighting was still underway in the area.

The Russian Defense Ministry said in a briefing Wednesday that its forces had used air-launched high-precision weapons and attack drones to carry out group strikes on logistics centers, ports, maritime vessels and energy infrastructure serving the Ukrainian armed forces.

The ministry also said that Russian forces had taken control of Sviatohirsk in the Donetsk region and the settlement of Kozacha Lopan in the Kharkiv region over the past day.

On the same day, Ukraine's 14th Army Corps denied Russia's claim that it had seized Kozacha Lopan, saying the area remains under Ukrainian control.

The situation in Kozacha Lopan is tense, and the battlefield is dynamic, the Ukrainian side said, adding that its forces are holding designated lines and conducting active defense operations as fierce fighting continues.

Located in the northern Kharkiv region, Kozacha Lopan serves as a major logistics hub and a key transportation node for Ukrainian forces.

In a separate development, Lysak, head of the Odesa City Military Administration, reported on Thursday that a Russian strike in the early hours had wounded 17 people, including three children. All the injured have received professional medical treatment, Lysak said.

The strike damaged a high-rise apartment building and several vehicles in the city.

Russia has not yet commented on the Odesa attack.