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Strategies & Market Trends : JAPAN-Nikkei-Time to go back up? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: fut_trade who wrote (1848)	4/19/1999 5:48:00 PM
From: fut_trade	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 3902

HK Stocks Soar To 17-Month High By David Lawder HONG KONG (Reuters) - Hong Kong stocks roared to their highest close Friday since October 20 1997 as funds poured in from overseas investors, brokers said. The blue chip Hang Seng Index finished 528.07 points or 4.41 percent higher at 12,490.30, blowing an impressive hole through the 12,000 resistance level. Turnover soared to HK$11.47 billion (US$1.48 billion), nearly doubling Thursday's HK$5.91 billion and reaching the highest level since November 24 1998. ''Overseas money is flowing in -- that is really pushing it,'' said Howard Gorges, research director at South China Securities. Strong futures-related activity and short-covering was helping to push prices higher, as was a lack of blue chip shares available for sale. Brokers said the government's market intervention last August took a huge number of shares off the market. Leading the market's charge was HSBC Holdings, up HK$7.00 or 2.59 percent to end at HK$277, equaling the previous record close for the stock. Pushed higher by short-covering once it broke above HK$270, brokers said, HSBC added 91 points to the Hang Seng Index. Telecom shares also soared, with Hong Kong Telecommunications Ltd (NYSE:HKT - news) surging HK$1.45 or 8.5 percent to HK$18.55 on turnover of HK$678.1 million and China Telecom (Hong Kong) Ltd (NYSE:CHL - news) rising HK$1.10 or 7.83 percent to HK$15.15 on turnover of HK$795.7 million. ''There was a lot of American funds chasing after telecom stocks,'' said Lennon Chan, deputy executive director at Tai Fook Securities Ltd. ''There are no fundamental changes in the market, but there is fund flow support and support for certain concepts, such as telecoms.'' Brokers said takeover sentiment swirling around reports of Deutsche Telekom and Telecom Italia was helping to sweep Hongkong Telecom higher. But a Hongkong Telecom spokesman said there were no negotiations or agreements taking place about acquisitions or realizations that might be price sensitive. Among other heavily traded blue chips, Hang Seng Bank gained HK$5.75 or 7.57 percent to HK$81.75. Hutchison Whampoa was up HK$2.75 or 4.2 percent to end at HK$67.75 while parent Cheung Kong (Holdings) gained HK$2.50 or 3.86 percent to HK$67.25. Analysts said funds were entering the market on the heels of a string of record closes on Wall Street and amid growing belief among fund managers that recovery is taking hold in Asia. Thursday, the Dow industrials gained 51.06 points to close at 10,462.72. ''I think the rallies will come and go and it is not too surprising that when it was determined that foreign money would come into Asia that you would get a big move in the index,'' said Andrew Fernow, research director at Vickers Ballas Securities. The length and extent of Hong Kong's rally will be determined by the amount of funds entering the market. ''The upside potential is as much cash as the Americans want to throw at us,'' said a trader at a local securities house who noted that many 12-month price targets for blue chip companies, based on fundamental valuations, have already been reached. But Tai Fook's Chan warned that a reversal of flows can quickly take the air out the market. ''The market can go down just as fast as it went up when the fund flows dry up, so investors have to be very careful on these fund flow fundamentals.'' (US$1 - HK7.75)