Tuesday, 17 March 2015 15:09
HONG KONG: Hong Kong stocks eased 0.20 percent Tuesday, giving up early gains following a three-day rally, but Shanghai extended a recent winning streak on hopes China will unveil fresh economy-boosting measures.
The benchmark Hang Seng Index dipped 48.06 points to 23,901.49 on turnover of HK$ 80.09 billion ($ 10.33 billion).
The index rose in line with regional markets in the morning following a surge on Wall Street after weak manufacturing and industrial data tempered talk of a US rate hike in the early summer.
But news that Chinese property firm Guangzhou R&F had missed its full-year earnings forecast sent shudders through the market and prompted a round of profit-taking.
Andrew Sullivan, head of sales trading at Haitong International Securities in Hong Kong, said: “The worry is there is a lot more bad news out there.”
Guangzhou R&F ended down 7.57 percent at HK8.06, while other property firms retreated. Sino Land lost 2.36 percent to HK$ 11.60 and Wharf Holdings slipped 1.97 percent to HK$ 49.75.
Meanwhile HSBC added 0.62 percent to HK$ 65.05, China Mobile shed 0.39 percent to HK$ 102.20 and Tencent sank 1.33 percent to HK$ 133.80.
Traders are now keeping an eye on a two-day US Federal Reserve policy meeting that starts Tuesday, hoping it will provide an idea about its timetable for raising interest rates.
In mainland China, the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index jumped 1.55 percent, or 53.54 points, to 3,502.85 — its highest close since May 2008 — on turnover of 601.5 billion yuan ($ 97.7 billion).
The Shenzhen Composite Index, which tracks stocks on China’s second exchange, gained 1.23 percent, or 21.59 points, to 1,781.78 on turnover of 497.5 billion yuan.
Shanghai surged 2.27 percent on Monday after Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said the government was ready to support the economy, which has seen a marked slowdown over the past year. The index rose more than 50 percent last year on hopes for Beijing-backed stimulus measures.
“It seems that there is a bottom line and the government will make sure growth will not go below seven percent,” said Hao Hong, chief China strategist at Bocom International Holdings.
China’s economy expanded 7.4 percent last year — the slowest pace in nearly a quarter of a century. The government has set the annual growth target for 2015 at “approximately” 7.0 percent.
Analysts said funds that failed to subscribe to a slew of initial public offerings (IPOs) last week had returned to the market to chase the rally.
Airlines led the gains on lower oil prices. In Shanghai, China Southern Airlines surged by its 10 percent daily limit to 7.82 yuan and China Eastern Airlines also jumped 10 percent to 7.03 yuan.
Brokerage firms were also higher in Shanghai. China Merchants Securities added 2.51 percent to 27.39 yuan, while Citic Securities rose 2.88 percent to 29.60 yuan.
Copyright AFP (Agence France-Presse), 2015
