Hong Kong Stocks: Nasdaq Hopes Fuel Market
April 18, 2001
Dow Jones Newswires
HONG KONG -- Reversing most of the previous session's losses, the market shot up 2.9% Wednesday, fueled by huge gains among telecom shares and hope that the Nasdaq Composite Index will climb higher.
The Hang Seng Index gained 366.35, or 2.9%, to 12972.80. Volume reached 9.73 billion Hong Kong dollars.
China Mobile HK, which is one of the market's biggest stocks, surged HK$2.50 to HK$36.70, pulling the index up with it.
But optimism was muted as China Mobile's surge brought it to just slightly above its HK$36.50 closing price Thursday, before a four-day weekend, and a 6.3% drop when trading resumed Tuesday. Likewise, the index's gains simply reversed the market's 3% fall Tuesday.
"The market view is just changing every two or three days," said Alan Hutcheson, research director at Pacific Challenge Securities.
He called the market's bounce Wednesday "a knee-jerk reaction" to the slide. Investors are betting Nasdaq will climb during trading later Wednesday, following a 3% gain for Nasdaq futures during the Asian day, he added.
Computer chip maker Intel's better-than-expected earnings after the U.S. markets closed Tuesday are also expected to boost sentiment.
Analysts said investors were also cheered when Nasdaq ignored a severe profit warning from tech bellwether Cisco Systems , which also helped lift tech and telecom shares locally.
Computer manufacturer Legend Holdings gained 5.7% to HK$5.55, while Pacific Century Cyberworks rose 2.9% to HK$2.675.
Hutchison Whampoa shot up 4.9% to HK$85.25.
"The [telecom] sector is very depressed," said Jack Tsui, telecom analyst at South China Brokerage. "The oversold situation is quite severe," which is luring some to the shares. Hutchison's shares are gaining momentum from recent reports upgrading European telecom shares, he added.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
URL for this Article:
interactive.wsj.com
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Copyright © 2001 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Printing, distribution, and use of this material is governed by your Subscription Agreement and copyright laws.
For information about subscribing, go to wsj.com
Used with permission of wsj.com |
