265: HK shares pace region lower, properties outperform
Navigation trail: / latestnews / archive / 265 - published: 13-03-07
HONG KONG, March 13 (Reuters) - Hong Kong stocks fell 0.3 percent on Tuesday, pacing soft Asian markets, but property stocks outperformed ahead of a land auction later in the day.
"I don't think the land auction will affect the market sentiment too much," said Y.K. Chan, strategist at Phillip Securities.
If the auction were to fetch better-than-expected prices, "it may provide short-term stimulus to the property counters, but it can't turn around the current mood of the market", Chan said.
The benchmark Hang Seng Index <.HSI> had fallen 48.86 points to 19,393.56 by midsession on turnover of HK$22.1 billion (US$2.8 billion), compared with Monday morning's HK$26.1 billion.
The China Enterprises index of H shares <.HSCE>, or Hong Kong-listed shares in mainland companies, slipped 0.1 percent.
Property stocks mostly outperformed the wider market, with the Hang Seng property sub-index <.HSNP> rising 0.3 percent.
New World Development (0017.HK: Quote, Profile , Research) gained 1 percent to HK$18.64 and Sun Hung Kai (0016.HK: Quote, Profile , Research) advanced 1.1 percent to HK$89.65. Henderson Land (0012.HK: Quote, Profile , Research) rose 1.1 percent to HK$43.50.
Local lenders fell after rallying for the past two sessions. Bank of East Asia (0023.HK: Quote, Profile , Research) declined 1.5 percent to HK$43.75 and Hang Seng Bank (0011.HK: Quote, Profile , Research) slumped 0.8 percent to HK$111.60.
China Mobile (0941.HK: Quote, Profile , Research), the morning's most active stock, slid 1.2 percent to HK$69.05.
New World Cyberbase Ltd. (0276.HK: Quote, Profile , Research) soared 7.5 percent to HK$2.15 in heavy trade. The firm may explore opportunities in coal distribution, traders said. Last month, the company announced a plan to buy a coal mine in western Mongolia for HK$1.2 billion (US$154 million).
China Shenhua Energy Co. Ltd. (1088.HK: Quote, Profile , Research) leapt 3.4 percent to HK$21.10 and China Coal (1898.HK: Quote, Profile , Research) rose 1.7 percent to HK$7.16. (US$1=HK$7.8)
Source:
Reuters.co.uk