HONG KONG, Sept 10 (Reuters) - Yum China Holdings Inc , the Chinese operator of KFC, closed its first Hong Kong trading session down 5.3% on Thursday, the worst performing debut in the city for a $1 billion plus company in more than a year.

The operator of KFC, Taco Bell and Pizza Hut restaurants in China had sold 41.91 million shares at HK$412 each, raising $2.22 billion in its secondary listing.

The shares closed at HK$390.20, underperforming the Hang Seng Index which closed down 0.64% after trading in positive territory for most of Thursday.

During the session, Yum China fell as much as 6.2% below the offer price.

Among companies worth more than $1 billion, Yum China's debut was the worst since Shenwan Hongyuan closed down 12% in April last year on its first day.

Steven Leung, executive director of institutional sales at UOB Kay Hian in Hong Kong, said, "Investors whom subscribed for the stock, are unlikely to hold for long amid the softer tone in the U.S. stock lately."

The New York-listed Yum China shares, valued at $22.3 billion, ended 1.7% higher at $53.2 on Wednesday, but the stock is down 8.7% from its recent peak on Sept. 1.

Asia's stock markets snapped their longest losing streak since February on Thursday and rose following a bounce on Wall Street, though subdued trade in currency, commodity and bond markets suggested investors remain cautious about the outlook.

Hong Kong-based Geo Securities' chief executive, Francis Lun, said the stock's weakness was also driven by highly leveraged retail investors rushing to dump their shares following its lower opening.

"People who apply for stock in these deals are looking for quick money, they borrow very heavily so if a stock falls they need to get out," he said.

Yum China's performance reverses a recent trend of strong debuts after public offerings and secondary listings in Hong Kong. Nongfu Spring Co Ltd jumped 85% when it began trading on Tuesday..

The two largest secondary listings of 2020 in Hong Kong also both rose on their debuts. Netease Inc shares closed 5.7% higher and JD.com Inc rose 3.5% when they began trading in June. (Reporting by Scott Murdoch and Donny Kwok in Hong Kong; additional reporting Patturaja Murugaboopathy in Bengaluru; Editing by Christopher Cushing and Elaine Hardcastle)