April 5 (Reuters) - Hong Kong stocks fell on Friday,

tracking global peers, as mounting geopolitical worries along

with hawkish pushback by some U.S. Federal Reserve officials

weighed on risk sentiment in a cautious end to the week.

** Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index dipped 0.68%, after

sliding as much as 1.5% in early trading. Still, the index is on

course to eke out a small gain for the week.

** Mainland China's financial markets are closed for a

public holiday on Friday.

** MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside

Japan fell 0.7% as risk aversion permeated the

market ahead of U.S. jobs data due later in the day.

** U.S. Fed officials, including Richmond Fed President

Thomas Barkin and Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari,

doused expectations that rate cuts were likely on the horizon

as, they endorsed a careful approach to monetary easing.

** Investor sentiment was also hit by escalating tensions in

the Middle East, with Israel bracing on Thursday for the

possibility of a retaliatory attack after its suspected killing

of Iranian generals in Damascus this week.

** The threat of supply disruptions owing to a prolonged

conflict in the Middle East has pushed oil prices higher. The

Hang Seng China A Energy Index was up 2.2%.

** Meanwhile, the Hang Seng China Enterprises index

fell 1%, while the Hang Seng Tech index was 1.25%

lower.

** Data on Wednesday showed that China's services activity

growth accelerated in March as new business rose at the quickest

pace in three months, adding to signs that China's economic

recovery may be gaining traction.