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Friday, 31 July 2015 14:19
HONG KONG: Hong Kong shares ended 0.56 percent higher Friday, ending a painful weak on a positive note as dealers brushed off more losses in mainland Chinese markets and a tepid lead from Wall Street.
The benchmark Hang Seng index added 138.30 points to 24,636.28 on turnover of HK$ 77.73 billion (US$ 10.03 billion).
The markets swung throughout the week, ending it more than three percent lower, as investors were spooked by renewed selling in China, where the Shanghai market slumped more than 10 percent over the past five days and 15 percent in July. That included an 8.48 percent collapse Monday, its heaviest loss in more than eight years.
Hong Kong investors were also unfazed by a flat session in New York, which came despite figures showing growth in the US economy picked up to 2.3 percent in April-June — the strongest growth since the third quarter of 2014.
And while the figure was a little below expectations, the department also revised up its estimate on the first quarter of the year to growth of 0.6 percent, from a 0.2 percent contraction.
Among the biggest gainers Friday was casino operator Galaxy Entertainment, which surged 5.62 percent to HK$ 35.70 on news it had bought a five percent stake in Societe des Bains de Mer et du Cercle des Etrangers a Monaco. The move comes as it looks to widen its revenue streams as gambling haven Macau struggles.
Rival Sands China also rose, adding 4.26 percent to HK$ 34.40.
There were also gains for Tencent, which added 1.33 percent to HK$ 144.70, while China Mobile climbed 1.60 percent to HK$ 101.50.
However, China-based firms listed in Hong Kong mostly fell. Energy giant CNOOC shed 1.13 percent to HK$ 9.61, insurer Ping An dropped 0.34 percent to HK$ 44.60 and Air China was off 2.50 percent at HK$ 7.79.
– China regulator action –
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Shanghai closed down 1.13, or 42.04 points, at 3,663.73 on turnover of 460.5 billion ($ 75.3 billion).
The Shanghai gauge tumbled 15 percent this month, marking the biggest monthly drop in six years — since August 2009, Bloomberg News reported.
The Shenzhen Composite Index, which tracks stocks on China’s second exchange, fell 0.82 percent, or 17.54 points, to 2,110.62 on turnover of 417.6 billion yuan. It tumbled 9.13 percent from last Friday’s close.
The China Securities Regulatory Commission said shortly before the market opened on Friday that it was investigating institutions and individuals for programme trading.
The Shanghai and Shenzhen exchanges had put limits on 24 accounts for influencing stock prices and investors’ decisions, it said.
“The public isn’t happy about the market plunge so the regulator needs to take some actions as a response, and that’s part of the government’s plan to prop up the market,” Zhang Haidong, chief strategist at Jinkuang Investment Management, said.
Other moves by authorities in the wake of the losses — which began last month — include banning shareholders with more than five percent stakes from selling stock and funding the state-backed China Securities Finance Corp. to buy shares.
“The support measures may have been less effective than what Beijing imagined,” Bernard Aw, a strategist at IG Asia in Singapore, said.
Airlines shares were among the biggest losers in Shanghai. Air China tumbled by its 10 percent daily limit to 11.75 yuan and China Southern Airlines slumped 6.26 percent to 11.69 yuan.
Energy stocks also lost ground. In Shanghai, PetroChina sank 5.29 percent to 11.09 yuan and Sinopec Shanghai Petrochemical slid 4.42 percent to 8.00 yuan.
