Hong Kong Stocks Telecom Stocks Lift Market
January 19, 2001
Hong Kong Stocks
Telecom Stocks Lift Market
Dow Jones Newswires
HONG KONG -- Shares rose to a three-month high Friday as improving confidence on the Nasdaq Composite Index sparked a wave of buying in local telecommunications and technology stocks.
The Hang Seng Index jumped 404.80, or 2.6%, to 15933.55. Volume surged by 60% to 14.72 billion Hong Kong dollars.
A slew of positive earnings reports from U.S. technology and Internet companies was behind Friday's rally, market watchers said.
The Nasdaq Composite Index added 3.2% to 2768.49 overnight, bolstered by news that International Business Machines' fourth-quarter earnings exceeded analysts' projections.
Blue-chip mainland computer maker Legend gained 12%, or 75 Hong Kong cents to HK$6.85, It was the biggest blue-chip gainer.
Telecommunications stocks also rose on market talk that Pacific Century CyberWorks is actively looking for a buyer for a stake in the company that London's Cable & Wireless is allowed to sell next month. Worries about the share sale -- which could further depress CyberWorks' share price -- has plagued performance of its shares. CyberWorks added 37.5 cents to HK$4.625.
"PCCW has been on a freefall for a long time and hasn't had any real rebound. Investors who have shorted the stock are rushing to cover their positions," said Sunny Chan, head of research with KGI Asia.
Hutchison Whampoa rose HK$5 to HK$104. The company said that it won't bid for Australia's Cable & Wireless Optus, relieving the market of the worry that Hutchison would shoulder an extra financial burden if it bought the asset.
China Mobile was up 4.2% to HK$49.40. Competitor China Unicom, which reported threefold increase in mobile subscribers last year, rose 4.7% to HK$13.30.
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