HONG KONG, May 13 (Reuters) - Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing <0388.HK>, Asia's largest listed bourse operator, on Wednesday said its first-quarter earnings fell 49 percent on lower trading volumes and fee income as the global financial crisis pummeled stock values and damped investor interest.
HKEx said it earned HK$834.24 million ($107.6 million) in the January-March period, down from HK$1.65 billion a year earlier, marking its fourth consecutive quarterly profit decline.
The numbers lagged behind two analysts' forecasts for HK$891 million and HK$918 million.
HKEx did worse than its rival Singapore Exchange <SGXL.SI>, which reported a 46 percent drop in third-quarter profit, hurt by lower trading volumes and a dearth of new share issues.
($1=HK$7.749)
