Hong Kong Stocks Rise, Led by China Mobile, Hutchison on Nasdaq
By Kelvin Chan
Hong Kong, Jan. 22 (Bloomberg) -- Hong Kong telecommunications stocks rose, led by China Mobile (Hong Kong) Ltd. and Hutchison Whampoa Ltd. after Microsoft Corp.'s earnings report helped lift the U.S. Nasdaq Composite Index to a third day of gains.
``The overseas market seems to be stabilizing,'' said Ben Kwong, a director at KGI Asia Ltd. ``The telecom and technology stocks in Hong Kong will continue to benefit from more stable Nasdaq performance.''
The Hang Seng Index rose 135.86, or 0.8 percent, to 16,069.41. In the broader market, 199 stocks rose, 140 fell and 383 were unchanged.
The Nasdaq, from which many stocks here often take their lead, rose 0.1 percent to 2770.38 on Friday, capping its second week of gains. Earnings of Microsoft, Ebay Inc. and Nortel Networks Corp. suggested technology companies have put the worst of the profit slowdown behind them.
The China B share markets are closed for the Lunar New Year holidays.
The following is a list of companies whose shares may be active. Prices refer to yesterday's closing levels.
Hong Kong stocks:
Telecommunications and computer-related stocks rose along with their U.S. counterparts as the Nasdaq Composite Index finished its second week of gains.
China Mobile (Hong Kong) Ltd. (941 HK ), China's No. 1 publicly traded mobile telephone company, rose HK$1.35, or 2.7 percent, to HK$50.75. China Mobile, which operates the world's No. 2 cellular-phone network, added 16.8 million new subscribers in November, a 71 percent increase, the company said on its Web site. Hutchison Whampoa Ltd. (13 HK ), which has global telecommunications businesses, rose HK$1, or 1 percent, to HK$105. Pacific Century CyberWorks Ltd. (8 HK ) rose 7.5 cents, or 1.6 percent, to HK$4.70.
Some property developers fell as investors switched out of the companies after gaining 26 percent since December on expectations of lower interest rates. ``Not all the developers are going down -- just those ones with rich valuations'' such as Sun Hung Kai Properties Ltd., which is trading at 20.97 times next year's forecast earnings, said Jason Ho, sales director at BNP Prime Peregrine Ltd. Investors are switching out of the big developers into property investors such as Swire Pacific Ltd., which is trading at 19.69 times next year's earnings per share, he said.
Sun Hung Kai Properties Ltd. (16 HK ) fell 50 cents, or 0.6 percent, to HK$83.50. Henderson Land Development Ltd. (12 HK ), the third biggest, fell HK$1.30, or 3 percent, to HK$42.
First Pacific Co. (142 HK ), which controls the Philippines' largest phone company, rose 42.5 cents, or 21 percent, to HK$2.45 in tandem with a rally in the Philippine stock market. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo replaced Joseph Estrada as the nation's president, putting an end to the nation's three- month political crisis. First Pacific gained 10 percent on Friday.
Cathay Pacific Airways (293 HK ) fell 10 cents, or 0.8 percent, to HK$12.45. Hong Kong's dominant long-haul airline said it filled 73.2 percent of its seats with paying passengers in December, lower than the average level for the year, reflecting slowing demand.
PetroChina Co. (857 HK ) rose 5 cents, or 3.6 percent, to HK$1.43. China's No.1 oil company said it found a natural gas field in the country's Inner Mongolia region with more than 500 billion cubic meters in reserves.
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