Stocks News
- HK stocks rise with properties sector soaring near 5%
Date: 8-Nov-2007 Sources: (Xinhua Online)
Gains in blue-chip developers following ratings upgrades and in Chinese telecom stocks on higher price targets by brokerages led Hong Kong shares higher Wednesday
The benchmark Hang Seng Index rose 270.80 points, or 0.92 percent, to 29,708.93 after trading between 29,596.18 and 30,195. 64 during the session.
H-share index, which reflected the performance of state-owned companies registered in the Chinese mainland, inched down 2.54 points, or 0.01 percent, to 21,807.77.
Turnover fell to 159.56 billion HK dollars (20.57 billion U.S. dollars) from Tuesday's 169.64 billion HK dollars (21.87 billion U. S. dollars).
Analysts said the city's benchmark index is likely to stay on an uptrend given the continued abundant liquidity and strong economic fundamentals in Hong Kong and the Chinese Mainland.
The Hang Seng Property sub-index outperformed the benchmark index, rising 4.77 percent.
JP Morgan predicted in a report that residential property prices in the city will rise 15 percent in 2007 and another 25 percent in 2008 on a strong wealth effect from the booming stock market and interest rate cuts.
Henderson Land Development rose 10 percent to 71.90 Hong Kong dollars after JP Morgan, one of the oldest financial services firms in the world, upgraded its rating to neutral from underweight and raised its price target to 67.00 Hong Kong dollars from 59.00 HongKong dollars. 'We still think Henderson is a relative under performer but we believe it warrants a neutral rating given the promising outlook on Hong Kong property market,' said JP Morganin the research note.
Sun Hung Kai Properties rose 4.4 percent to 147.80 Hong Kong dollars after JP Morgan raised its rating for Hong Kong's biggest developer by market capitalization to overweight from neutral. It also increased the developer's target price to 159.00 Hong Kong dollars from 150.00 Hong Kong dollars.
Chinese telecommunications operators gained after brokerage firms set higher price targets for the firms.
China Mobile, the largest blue chip by capitalization, rose 1 percent to 143.30 Hong Kong dollars after Goldman Sachs raised its target price to 180.00 Hong Kong dollars from 99.00 Hong Kong dollars on a potential A-share listing in China. China Mobile said earlier it planned to list A shares, but it has not given a timetable.
China Unicom gained 4.1 percent to 16.44 Hong Kong dollars after Goldman raised its target price to 18.90 Hong Kong dollars from 12.00 Hong Kong dollars on a potential restructuring of China's telecommunications sector.
The market was also boosted by a report in the state-run Shanghai Securities News Wednesday that cited unnamed sources as saying Ping An Insurance and Huatai Insurance had won regulatory approval to invest in Hong Kong stocks under the Qualified Domestic Institutional Investor program. The paper said the China Insurance Regulatory Commission will allow the two insurers to invest up to 5 percent of their total assets in H shares and red chips.
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