Stocks News
- Hong Kong shares end lower due to profit-taking
Date: 18-Sep-2007 Sources: (Shenzhen Daily)
The Hong Kong shares went down on Monday due to profit-taking, as experts said investors had already factored in a potential cut in U.S. interest rates of at least 25 basis point later this week.
The Hang Seng Index fell 298.77 points, or 1.2 percent, to 24, 599.34 after trading between 24,544.74 and 24,977.42 during the session.
Turnover reached 81.12 billion Hong Kong dollars (10.43 billion U.S. dollars), down from 101.45 billion Hong Kong dollars (13.04 billion U.S. dollars) Friday.
The U.S. Federal Reserve is scheduled to meet Tuesday, when it will decide on the interest rate level. Traders said Hong Kong's property companies may fall further if the U.S. cuts rates by only 25 basis points or less.
Sun Hung Kai Properties fell 4.5 percent to 115.60 Hong Kong dollars, Cheung Kong dropped 6.2 percent to 119.90 Hong Kong dollars while Hang Lung Properties was off 5.4 percent at 31.50 Hong Kong dollars.
Sino Land, one of the partners in a consortium that bought a site at a government land auction Monday by submitting a winning bid nearly 50 percent above the opening price, ended 4.6 percent lower at 20.55 Hong Kong dollars. K Wah International, another partner in the consortium, rose 3.4 percent to 3.68 Hong Kong dollars.
The property sub-index, which covers blue-chip developers, rose 12 percent last week on expectations of an interest-rate cut in the U.S. The Hang Seng Index rose 4 percent over the same period.
Chinese insurers bucked the downtrend. Analysts said higher interest rates in China will help improve their investment returns. China Life ended 0.5 percent higher at 38.20 Hong Kong dollars, after hitting an intraday record 39.05 Hong Kong dollars. Ping An Insurance finished up 2.2 percent at 87.65 Hong Kong dollars, off its intraday record of 90.00 Hong Kong dollars.
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