Thursday May 15, 06:09 AM
Hong Kong shares end morning lower on weaker property sector, select large caps
HONG KONG (XFN-ASIA) - Share prices finished the morning lower, reversing earlier gains driven by a strong showing on Wall Street, as property stocks turned lower due to increasing worries about an end to the rate-cutting cycle in the US and Hong Kong.
Continued profit-taking in select large caps amid a directionless market, including HSBC, China Mobile and Hong Kong Exchange & Clearing, also weighed on the key index, dealers said.
Hutchison Whampoa (Munich: 869503 - news) helped limit losses as the stock surged nearly 4 pct after Citigroup (NYSE: C - news) upgraded the ports-to-telecoms conglomerate to 'buy' from 'neutral' on undervaluation.
Bank of East Asia (0023.HK - news) rose 2.8 pct after Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS - news) upgraded the Hong Kong bank to 'buy' from 'neutral' on brighter earnings prospects.
Shaw Brothers (Hong Kong) (0080.HK - news) was higher after news that centenarian Sir Run Run Shaw is in talks about selling his stake in Shaw Brothers, which controls TVB, Hong Kong's most-watched free-to-air television network.
The new Hang Seng (news) index-designated Tencent surged more than 7 pct after reporting strong first-quarter results. The mainland internet firm will join the HSI on June 10.
The Hang Seng index closed the morning down 132.15 points or 0.52 pct at 25,401.33, off a low of 25,323.73 and high of 25,736.56.
Turnover was 45.30 bln hkd.
HSBC was down 0.5 hkd or 0.37 pct at 134.80, China Mobile fell 1.2 hkd or 0.91 pct at 131.3 and HKEx lost 2.4 hkd or 1.59 pct at 148.8.
Hutchison Whampoa was up 3.1 hkd or 3.93 pct at 82.05 while Bank of East Asia gained 21.25 hkd or 2.83 pct at 45.45.
Tencent surged 5.05 hkd or 7.8 pct at 69.8.
Shaw Brothers (Hong Kong) was up 0.3 hkd or 1.41 pct at 21.55 while TVB gained 0.2 hkd or 0.41 pct at 48.55.
(1 usd = 7.8 hkd)
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