Hong Kong shares close sharply higher led by properties on US leads - UPDATE |
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Thu, 01 Feb 2007 09:58
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HONG KONG (XFN-ASIA) - Share prices closed sharply higher led by the property sector after the US Federal Reserve made reassuring comments on economic outlook after keeping interest rates unchanged as expected, dealers said.They said the Fed's upbeat assessment and Wall Street's subsequent gains lifted overall sentiment, with blue chips such as HSBC and China Mobile also posting gains after yesterday's sharp correction.But China stocks remained volatile amid concerns that the mainland markets may have overheated.The Hang Seng Index closed up 323.74 points or 1.61 pct at 20,430.16, off a low of 20,176.62 and high of 20,496.81.Turnover was 50.73 bln hkd.'Properties saw strong buying interest today after yesterday's correction and following the Fed's move to keep interest rates unchanged,' said Castor Pang, strategist at Sun Hung Kai Financial group.'But I think the stocks were a bit overbought today... and should see profit-taking tomorrow,' he added.Pang said the market is not expected to see further strong upside at the current level, with resistance at 20,500 points.He said the local bourse 'will remain dependent on the China stock market which may see further correction on worries that the government may further impose macro-economic measures.'Among blue chips, China Mobile closed up 1.95 hkd or 2.72 pct at 73.55, HSBC was up 1.10 hkd or 0.77 pct at 143.4, HKEx up 0.65 hkd or 0.77 pct at 85.35 and Hutchison Whampoa up 1.40 hkd or 1.80 pct at 79.0.Elsewhere in the banking sector, Hang Seng Bank was up 0.50 hkd or 0.46 pct at 109.0, Bank of East Asia up 0.35 hkd or 0.78 pct at 45.20 and BOC Hong Kong down 0.20 hkd or 0.98 pct at 20.20.The property sector posted strong gains, with the sectoral index finishing up 734.13 points or 3.01 pct at 25,110.96.Cheung Kong gained 3.1 hkd or 3.02 pct at 105.90, Henderson Land rose 0.75 hkd or 1.66 pct to 45.85, Sun Hung Kai Properties added 2.10 hkd or 2.22 pct to 96.6 and Sino Land was up 0.64 hkd or 3.65 pct at 18.18.Among China financials, China Construction Bank was up 0.07 hkd or 1.52 pct at 4.53, Bank of Communications down 0.12 hkd or 1.42 pct at 8.31, ICBC down 0.08 hkd or 1.77 pct at 4.45, Bank of China down 0.03 hkd or 0.78 pct at 3.83 and China Life was down 0.45 hkd or 1.97 pct at 22.35.The Hang Seng China Enterprise Index closed down 60.43 points or 0.63 pct at 9,541.97.Lenovo was up 0.06 hkd or 1.89 pct at 3.23 ahead of its its third quarter to December results later today.Citigroup said in a note that it expects Lenovo to report sales of 30.4 bln hkd and net profit of 299 mln for the third quarter to December. Earnings per share is expected to come in at 3.44 hkd. It said it sees 'slight improvement' in Lenovo's earnings before interest and tax and EBITDA margins.New listing Wuyi Pharmaceutical closed at 1.96 hkd, up 10 pct from the IPO rice of 1.80. The stock opened at 1.97 hkd and hit a high of 2.07 hkd.Oil counters were mixed, with PetroChina unchanged at 9.57, Sinopec down 0.06 hkd or 0.92 pct at 6.47 and CNOOC up 0.02 hkd or 0.30 pct at 6.66.Elsewhere, Chalco was up 0.70 hkd or 10.06 pct at 7.66 after announcing that it raised alumina spot prices by 50 pct to 3,600 yuan per ton.(1 usd = 7.8 hkd)roby.lau@xfn.comrl/rc
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Hong Kong shares close sharply higher; index regains 20,000 - UPDATE 