HSI Ends Down 0.7%, Led by HSBC; PCCW, GEM Shares Awake
May 03, 2001 - 16:33:29 HKT
Quamnet News Service
quamnet.com
The benchmark Hang Seng Index ended lower on profit-taking after rising nearly 500 points yesterday, ignoring the 2.4-percent gain in the Nasdaq market overnight. Heavyweight HSBC Holdings (0005) fell back to below HK$100 on concerns of a dilution effect on the stock amid reports that it may issue new shares to fund acquisitions. Telecoms and properties held up relatively better. Pacific Century CyberWorks (0008) bounced 8.2 percent on bargain hunting. GEM shares, which are mostly technology-oriented, outperformed the main board with some hitting new highs.
At the close, the benchmark Hang Seng Index was down 96.1 points, or 0.7 percent, at 13,718.14, having been down 168.02 points in the morning. Turnover was HK$9.81 billion, down from yesterday's HK$11.33 billion.
The Growth Enterprise Market Index, which tracks the performance of the technology-laden second board, rose 0.6 points, or 0.22 percent, to 273.41. Turnover was HK$294.97 million, compared with HK$198.47 million yesterday.
HSBC, Europe's largest bank, ended down 3.9 percent to HK$97. The bank is reportedly seeking investor backing to issue new shares worth as much as 17 billion pounds (HK$189.4 billion). It will ask shareholders on May 25 to approve a plan to create at its discretion as many as 1.9 billion new shares, representing 20 percent of its existing capital.
HSBC's unit Hang Seng Bank (0011) fell 0.3 percent to HK$90.50. Bank of East Asia Ltd. (0023) rose 0.6 percent to HK$18.20.
Telecoms were steady with Richard Li's Pacific Century CyberWorks (0008), which owns Hong Kong's largest phone company, rising 9.1 percent to HK$3. Hedge funds and retail punters were buying the stock amid improving sentiment in the global telecoms sector and the stock's low price to make quick money, some analysts said.
China Mobile (Hong Kong) (0941), the mainland's largest mobile phone company, added 1.2 percent to HK$41.80, extending yesterday's 7.8-percent rise. Rival China Unicom Ltd. (0762), holder of the core operations of China's No. 2 phone company, retreated 2.5 percent to HK$11.80 after surging 10.5 percent yesterday.
Hutchison Whampoa Ltd. (0013), a ports-to-telecoms investor owned by tycoon Li Ka-shing, shed 0.3 percent to HK$86.25.
Properties edged up 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$89.50, while Sun Hung Kai Properties Ltd. (0016) gained 1 percent to HK$74.
On the GEM, many tech issues hit new highs, lifted by the uptrend of Nasdaq. Telemedia and Internet solutions provider NeoLink Cyber Technology (Holding) Ltd. (8116) jumped 29.8 percent to HK$1.70, its 52-week high. Greencool Technology Holdings Ltd. (8056), a maker of non-CFC coolants for refrigeration systems, also hit its 52-week high of HK$2.925, up 4.5 percent from yesterday.
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