H.K. Stocks Fall Midday, Led by Telecoms; PCCW Down 1.1%
Feb 19, 2001 - 12:53:29 HKT
Quamnet News Service
Hong Kong stocks were lower midday Monday, led by China Mobile (Hong Kong) (0941) and other telecoms which fell after the sharp falls in European and U.S. telecoms over the weekend. Properties defied the overall downtrend, boosted by the Hong Kong government's further relaxation of anti-speculation measures on the property market -- a move widely thought to be part of the government's effort to prop up the sluggish property market. Robert Pope's, director of the Lands Department, forecast of a satisfactory land auction results later this afternoon also added steam to the sector, but not the overall stock market. Rate-sensitive banks softened amid concerns that the Federal Reserve may not cut interest rates again next month due to strong producer prices in the nation, traders said.
At midday, the benchmark Hang Seng Index was down 163.93 points or 1.05 percent at 15,466.38. Turnover was HK$3.35 billion, up from the half-day HK$3.198 billion last Friday.
China Mobile, the mainland's largest mobile phone company, fell 3.7 percent to HK$44.80. Rival China Unicom Ltd. (0762), which holds the core operations of China's No. 2 phone company, was down by 3.3 percent at HK$11.75.
Pacific Century CyberWorks (0008), a major Asian communications company which owns Hong Kong's largest phone company, dropped 1.1 percent to HK$4.575. Investors were watching when Cable & Wireless Plc, its second-largest shareholder, will offload a 7.5-percent stake in PCCW as a lock-up period has already expired on Feb. 17.
Hutchison Whampoa Ltd. (0013), Hong Kong's largest conglomerate and the biggest Asian investor in the European telecoms industry, was down 0.8 percent at HK$95.
Properties gained 1.12 percent as a group. Of the city's two largest property developers by market value, Cheung Kong Holdings Ltd. (0001), rose 0.3 percent to HK$97.75. Sun Hung Kai Properties Ltd. (0016) gained 2.2 percent to HK$82.75 after Moody's Investor Service upgraded its outlook on SHKP to positive from stable. Henderson Land Development Co. (0012) rose 1.4 percent to HK$44.20.
HSBC Holdings (0005), Europe's largest bank, fell 0.8 percent to HK$119. Its unit Hang Seng Bank (0011) shed 0.5 percent to HK$100.
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