HK stocks end slightly higher led by China telcos
Reuters, 01.14.02, 3:50 AM ET
forbes.com
HONG KONG, Jan 14 (Reuters) - Hong Kong blue chips ended slightly higher on Monday, recouping earlier losses as the bourse's second largest constituent China Mobile staged a technical rebound after a sharp fall last week.
Exporters Johnson Electric and Li & Fung fell after United States Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan said on Friday the U.S. was still dogged by "significant" risks such as higher unemployment and falling consumer spending.
The U.S. is Hong Kong's second largest export market.
The benchmark Hang Seng Index ended 0.38 percent or 42.97 points higher at 11,209.43, after dipping as low as 11,029.22 shortly after the market opened.
"We saw the first support at 11,000 points, the next will be 10,900 and the resistance will be around 11,200," said Philip Chan, head of research at Capital Securities.
The mainland's largest cellular carrier China Mobile climbed 2.27 percent to HK$24.75, after losing 13.26 percent last week, which had left it oversold on its 14-day relative strength index.
Its smaller rival China Unicom, gained 3.16 percent to HK$8.15, reversing some of last week's 11.24 percent slide. The stock was the top percentage gainer among blue chips.
"Between the two counters, China Unicom is likely to deliver higher growth in subscribers and revenues because its base is smaller than Mobile's," said Capital's Chan.
China Mobile and Unicom were the darlings of investors through 2000 and much of 2001 on projections of rapid subscriber growth. But recent subscriber figures point to a slowing growth rate as the Chinese mobile market matures, even though it is likely to outperform most other cellular markets in the world over 2002.
"Beijing's recent move to introduce two more licences over the next two years was inevitable," said Renee Hung, assistant fund manager for the Manulife China Value Fund, which oversees about US$140 million in Greater China. |
