Saturday 13 September 2008

Mainland plays bear brunt of HK sell-off

Analysts expect Hong Kong’s blue chips to remain under pressure over the next few weeks from weakness in the United States and mainland equity markets
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Mainland plays bear brunt of HK sell-off

Index hits 18-month low on widening global worries

Agencies
12 September 2008

Analysts expect Hong Kong’s blue chips to remain under pressure over the next few weeks from weakness in the United States and mainland equity markets.

Their pessimism was fuelled yesterday by local shares falling to an 18-month low as investors dumped mainland stocks amid deepening fears of a global economic slowdown.

The Hang Seng Index tumbled 611.06 points or 3.06 per cent to 19,388.72 to its lowest level since March 20 last year, after trading between 19,220.28 and 19,854.82 during the session.

Turnover was HK$69.6 billion.

The H-share index slid 439.37 points or 4.19 per cent to 10,052.03, tracking a 3.34 per cent drop on the Shanghai Stock Exchange.

Ernie Hon, a strategist at ICEA Securities, told Dow Jones Newswires that any rebound in the market would probably be short-lived because investors are waiting for an opportunity to offload their shares.

Near-term catalysts were missing, unless the mainland unveiled an economic stimulus package before its legislature met next month, he added.

Ample Financial Group fund manager Alex Wong said: “It’s a death spiral. The redemption needs force fund managers to sell their holdings indiscriminately. And with share prices tumbling, it triggers loss-cutting orders from other investors.”

Property developers were among the losers yesterday on concerns that property demand would weaken as Hong Kong’s economy slows in the second half of the year.

Cheung Kong tumbled 3.95 per cent to HK$99.70 and Sino Land dropped 7.56 per cent to HK$11.

Sun Hung Kai Properties shed 1.56 per cent to end at HK$91.30.

Mainland property stocks continued their downward drift on weak August sales revenue and broker warnings of a gloomy property price outlook in top-tier cities.

China Overseas Land gave up 8.82 per cent, closing at HK$9.30, while Guangzhou R&F Properties slid 8.77 per cent to HK$9.36.

Resources stocks took another beating yesterday as an advancing US dollar prevented a strong rebound in oil and other commodity prices even as Hurricane Ike whipped through the oil- and gas-rich US Gulf.

Asia’s largest oil and gas producer, PetroChina, fell 4.44 per cent to HK$8.60, while China Shenhua Energy, the world’s most valuable coal company, tumbled 6.38 per cent to HK$22.

The mainland’s top listed gold producer, Zijin Mining, fell 9.77 per cent to HK$3.51. It has lost about 18 per cent of its market value since Tuesday.

Mainland telecommunications stocks were also pressured by deepening concerns about the fallout from widespread industry restructuring and regulatory uncertainties.

China Mobile dropped 5.29 per cent to a 15-month low at HK$77.

China Unicom, China Mobile’s smaller rival, tumbled 4.81 per cent to HK$11.48.

China Netcom, which is soon to be merged with Unicom, dropped 4.54 per cent to HK$17.24.