HK shares still saw red as the Hang Seng index fell by another 34.14 points or 0.16% to 21,071.57. This brought the total decline for the week to 2.8%. Contagion from US decline overnight and retreat in heavyweight China Mobile were cited as the forces behind the fall. Late announcement from HKMA’s Tsang also pushed property stocks down.
Next significant pieces of economic data will due this Friday as the market braces at US retail sales data, consumer price index and consumer sentiment. Consensus numbers suggest acceleration in retail sales in July (+0.5% vs. -0.5%), picking up in July headline inflation (+0.3% vs. -0.1%), as well as uptick in consumer sentiment in August (68.8 vs. 67.8).
Pullback in China Mobile dragged the Hang Seng index down after the stock rose 2.7% during the previous two sessions. China Mobile is expected to report a strong 1H results next Thursday along with its two counterparts China Telecom and China Unicom. Citigroup sees a 3.1% rise in net profit from China Mobile to 57.07 billion yuan, a 1.6% rise from China Telecom, and a 62% drop from China Unicom. China Mobile closed at HK$82.55 or down 1.55% while China Telecom was up 0.27% to end at HK$3.77.
Impending measures from the HK government to stabilize the local property market put a drag on property stocks. Sino Land, New World Development, Sun Hung Kai, Cheung Kong Holdings, Henderson Land, and Wharf Holdings were all down in anticipation of the news. After the bell, HK Financial Secretary John Tsang announced that the government plans to increase the supply of small home units by offering more land available for sale. He also reiterated that the government will step up its efforts to cool the property market whenever necessary. Two sites put to auction located in Chai Wan on Hong Kong Island and Fanling in the New Territories, while Hung Hom is located on the Kowloon Peninsula, and will be put in auction by the end of September. These sites are expected to provide 540 small residential units when completed.
Still in the property sector, Henderson Land, the fifth-largest builder by market value, is planning to sell 10 flats with the total value of about HK$186 million. The flats are located at 39 Conduit Road where prior cancellation of some sales worth HK$2.67 billion triggered investigation by authorities.
Hutchison Whampoa remained strong as it rose 2.61% to settle at HK$62.85. News about Li Ka-shing raising his stakes further in the company by HK$900 million to buy more than 15.3 million shares boosted sentiment for the stock. As a result, Li now holds 52.3% stake in the company.
COSCO Pacific gained 2.12% to end at HK$10.12 after the Ministry of Transportation announced that the company’s container throughput was reportedly rose 19.3% to 12.7 million in July.
In a separate occasion, HK’s GDP was up 6.5% in Q2 (yoy), slower than previous quarter (+8.0%), but better than the consensus (+5.7%). Quarter-to-quarter the GDP grew 1.4%, still slower than 2.1% growth in previous quarter. GDP is now forecast to grow between 5% and 6%, up from prior forecast of 4%-5%. In 2009 the GDP fell 2.8%.
Rounding off the day, Cathay Pacific topped the table with 4.07% gains while BOC HK surged 3.71%, followed by Hutchison Whampoa. Bank of East Asia languished at the bottom with a 3.49% decline, while Sino Land and New World Development ended -2.77% and -2.66%, respectively.
Finally, China Coal Energy and Belle International will join the 43 constituents in HIS, bringing the total number of constituents to 45.
Next significant pieces of economic data will due this Friday as the market braces at US retail sales data, consumer price index and consumer sentiment. Consensus numbers suggest acceleration in retail sales in July (+0.5% vs. -0.5%), picking up in July headline inflation (+0.3% vs. -0.1%), as well as uptick in consumer sentiment in August (68.8 vs. 67.8).
Pullback in China Mobile dragged the Hang Seng index down after the stock rose 2.7% during the previous two sessions. China Mobile is expected to report a strong 1H results next Thursday along with its two counterparts China Telecom and China Unicom. Citigroup sees a 3.1% rise in net profit from China Mobile to 57.07 billion yuan, a 1.6% rise from China Telecom, and a 62% drop from China Unicom. China Mobile closed at HK$82.55 or down 1.55% while China Telecom was up 0.27% to end at HK$3.77.
Impending measures from the HK government to stabilize the local property market put a drag on property stocks. Sino Land, New World Development, Sun Hung Kai, Cheung Kong Holdings, Henderson Land, and Wharf Holdings were all down in anticipation of the news. After the bell, HK Financial Secretary John Tsang announced that the government plans to increase the supply of small home units by offering more land available for sale. He also reiterated that the government will step up its efforts to cool the property market whenever necessary. Two sites put to auction located in Chai Wan on Hong Kong Island and Fanling in the New Territories, while Hung Hom is located on the Kowloon Peninsula, and will be put in auction by the end of September. These sites are expected to provide 540 small residential units when completed.
Still in the property sector, Henderson Land, the fifth-largest builder by market value, is planning to sell 10 flats with the total value of about HK$186 million. The flats are located at 39 Conduit Road where prior cancellation of some sales worth HK$2.67 billion triggered investigation by authorities.
Hutchison Whampoa remained strong as it rose 2.61% to settle at HK$62.85. News about Li Ka-shing raising his stakes further in the company by HK$900 million to buy more than 15.3 million shares boosted sentiment for the stock. As a result, Li now holds 52.3% stake in the company.
COSCO Pacific gained 2.12% to end at HK$10.12 after the Ministry of Transportation announced that the company’s container throughput was reportedly rose 19.3% to 12.7 million in July.
In a separate occasion, HK’s GDP was up 6.5% in Q2 (yoy), slower than previous quarter (+8.0%), but better than the consensus (+5.7%). Quarter-to-quarter the GDP grew 1.4%, still slower than 2.1% growth in previous quarter. GDP is now forecast to grow between 5% and 6%, up from prior forecast of 4%-5%. In 2009 the GDP fell 2.8%.
Rounding off the day, Cathay Pacific topped the table with 4.07% gains while BOC HK surged 3.71%, followed by Hutchison Whampoa. Bank of East Asia languished at the bottom with a 3.49% decline, while Sino Land and New World Development ended -2.77% and -2.66%, respectively.
Finally, China Coal Energy and Belle International will join the 43 constituents in HIS, bringing the total number of constituents to 45.
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