Hong Kong shares were steady on Tuesday amid the national economic growth concerns. Recently, Standard & Poor's has revised down its China's 2012 growth estimate from 8% to 7.5%, citing government's reluctance to launch stimulus measures. Hopes for further RRR cuts were dampened on Tuesday after the POBC announced that it would pump 290 billion Yuan into the financial sector via reverse bond purchasing agreements. The Hang Seng Index was almost flat, adding 0.02% to close at 20,698.68. All but one sectors included in the index advanced. The best-performers were consumer services and technology firms. Sands China and Tencent Holdings climbed 1.24% and 0.39%. Basic materials also rose, with Aluminum Corp of China (CHALCO) gaining 0.31%. Sending China's blue chips lower, lenders dropped 0.18% after the POBC announcement. Shares of Bank of China, Bank of Communications and China Construction Bank (CCB) retreated 0.34%, 0.57% and 0.58%, respectively.