Hong Kong shares close sharply lower led by property, China stocks - UPDATE |
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Fri, 26 Jan 2007 10:24
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HONG KONG (XFN-ASIA) - Share prices closed sharply lower led by property and China stocks following Wall Street's biggest pullback in two months overnight and falls on the mainland market, dealers said.They said many investors locked in profits after recent rallies, with others sidelined ahead of the weekend and the expiry of the futures contract next week.The Hang Seng index closed down 388.70 points or 1.88 pct at 20,281.13, off a low of 20,204.67 and a high of 20,457.48. For the week, the index was down 46.59 points or 0.23 pct.Turnover was 60 bln hkd.'The market reflected the movement of markets overseas, with H-shares leading the decline on fears China might accelerate its economic tightening measures and impact on the China markets and the H-shares,' said Kitty Chan, director at Celestial Asia Securities.She said property counters were lower due to profit-taking after their recent run-up.'The market believes further consolidation is likely going forward. Some are refraining from taking solid positions in the market ahead of the weekend and the expiry of the futures contract on Tuesday,' she added.Castor Pang, strategist at Sun Hung Kai Financial Group, said selling of China-related stocks and blue chips is likely to persist early next week.'I don't foresee selling pressure, due mainly to profit-taking, easing until the Hang Seng Index falls to the 20,000 points level and the H-share index to the 9,500 points level,' he said.Bargain hunters may come in after the two indices fall to those levels and help the market achieve some recovery later next week.'Sentiment towards H-shares remains weak because of expectations that the Chinese government might be soon adopting macro-economic measures, such as an increase in interest rates, to try and prevent the economy from overheating,' he said.'In the short-term, I expect China financials bearing the brunt of selling among H-shares,' he said.He added that aside from weak sentiment towards H-shares, the market will also likely be weighed down next week by concerns over unclear prospects for the US economy.'Housing sales were lower than expected and certain weak economic data have made scores of investors believe that the US market may go down further after last night's fall,' he said.Among major China stocks, China Mobile was down 3.50 hkd or 4.60 pct at 72.65 and ICBC lost 0.08 hkd or 1.71 pct at 4.59. PICC fell 0.23 hkd or 4.81 pct to 4.55 and Bank of China slid 0.06 hkd or 1.50 pct at 3.93.The property sub-index lost 439.97 points or 1.77 pct at 24,374.90, with Cheung Kong down 1.90 hkd or 1.85 pct at 100.80, Henderson Land sliding 0.80 hkd or 1.75 pct at 45.0, Sun Hung Kai Properties falling 1.35 hkd or 1.39 pct at 95.70 and Sino Land retreating 0.48 hkd or 2.53 pct at 18.52.Local banking stocks were also mostly lower. Hang Seng Bank fell 0.40 hkd or 0.37 pct at 108.20, Bank of East Asia was down 0.70 hkd or 1.56 pct at 44.30 and BOC Hong Kong retreated 0.35 hkd or 1.67 pct at 20.55.Among H-shares, PetroChina slid 0.26 hkd or 2.64 pct to 9.59, Chalco lost 0.24 hkd or 3.21 pct to 7.23, Angang New Steel was down 0.36 hkd or 2.76 pct to 12.70 and China Unicom rose 0.08 hkd or 0.74 pct at 10.78.The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index fell 203.65 points or 2.06 pct at 9,660.66.(1 usd = 7.8 hkd)leonora.walet@xfn.comlw/km
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Hong Kong shares end morning higher led by properties, China financials 