Hong Kong shares close sharply higher; index regains 20,000

Hong Kong shares close sharply higher; index regains 20,000 - UPDATE

	Published : Tue, 03 Apr 2007 09:49 By : Agencies Print this Story

HONG KONG (XFN-ASIA) - Share prices closed sharply higher as positive leads from overseas markets, including Tokyo, helped the key index regain the 20,000 level, dealers said.

Select blue chips and China-related stocks attracted strong buying interest, while new listing CITIC 1616 Holdings was also in focus as it posted steep gains.

The Hang Seng Index closed up 193.0 points or 0.97 pct at 20,002.70, after moving in the range of 19,903.89 and 20,021.03.

Turnover was 40.01 bln hkd.

'The market did well on the back of firm overseas markets... buying sentiment was quite strong especially in select blue chips and China-related stocks, which led the benchmark index to rise back to the 20,000-points level,'said Peter Lai, sales director at DBS Vickers.

He added, however, that the market is unlikely to sustain at the 20,000 level tomorrow as investors may take quick profits ahead of upcoming holidays and key US employment data later in the week.

Lai also said the market lacks fresh trading leads to support further gains.

The market will be closed from Thursday until Monday for the Ching Ming Festival and Easter holidays.

Lai noted that investors are takling a keen interest in IPOs and new listings.

'CITIC 1616 staged strong debut today... while the IPO of Chinese property developer Country Garden Holdings is also attracting huge investor interest. Market focus has shifted to the IPOs,' he said.

Country Garden is issuing 12.9 bln hkd shares in its Hong Kong IPO at an indicated price range of 4.18-5.38 hkd. Retail subscription opened today.

CITIC 1616 closed at 4.31 hkd, up 67 pct from the IPO price of 2.58 hkd. It hit a high of 4.54 hkd in early deals. A total of 365.35 mln shares worth 1.61 bln hkd have changed hands today.

ICBC finished flat at 4.4 hkd ahead of its 2006 results announcement.

The mainland banking giant announced after market close a net profit of 49.26 bln yuan for 2006, slightly lower than consensus forecasts.

Among other China financials, Bank of China was up 0.01 hkd or 0.26 pct at 3.90, BoComm up 0.08 hkd or 1.00 pct at 8.11 and China Life gained 0.30 hkd or 1.34 pct at 22.70.

Among large-caps, HSBC was up 0.60 hkd or 0.44 pct at 136.90, China Mobile was up 0.65 hkd or 0.93 pct at 70.90 and Hutchison Whampoa was up 0.45 hkd or 0.60 pct at 75.90.

Hang Seng Bank was up 0.70 hkd or 0.63 pct at 111.60 and BOC Hong Kong up 0.18 hkd or 0.95 pct at 19.06, and Bank of East Asia was up 0.90 hkd or 1.97 pct at 46.65.

Among properties, Cheung Kong was up 2.0 hkd or 1.99 pct at 102.4, Henderson Land was up 0.40 hkd or 0.88 pct at 46.05 and Sun Hung Kai was up 1.2 hkd or 1.33 pct at 91.15.

Oil counters were higher, with PetroChina was up 0.04 hkd or 0.43 pct at 9.26, Sinopec was up 0.09 hkd or 1.36 pct at 6.72 and CNOOC gaining 0.04 hkd or 0.58 pct at 6.88.

China Netcom was up 0.08 hkd or 0.40 pct at 19.98 as investors focused on improvement in the company's operating performance last year, rather than a 6.7 pct decline in headline net profit.

Xinyi Glass Holdings gained 0.41 hkd or 9.98 pct at 4.52 after reporting a 49.3 pct rise in 2006 net profit to 388.24 mln hkd on the back of strong sales.

The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index closed up 81.27 points or 0.84 pct at 9,724.27.

(1 usd = 7.8 hkd)

roby.lau@xfn.com

rl/rc

Hong Kong shares close sharply higher; index regains 20,000 - UPDATE