Hang Seng in 4-day Slide; Shanghai Gains; Refiners, Shippers Fall

Devan Biswas
24 Feb, 2011
New York City

Stocks in Hong Kong declined for the fourth day in a row and in Shanghai rose. Shipping and port related companies traded lower in Hong Kong and oil refiners declined after crude oil surged to 30-month high. Hong Kong dollar gained. Suning Appliance Co surged 6% on 370 store openings in the year.

[R]5:00 PM Hong Kong – Stocks in Hong Kong declined for the fourth day in a row and in Shanghai rose. Shipping and port related companies traded lower in Hong Kong and oil refiners declined after crude oil surged to 30-month high. Hong Kong dollar gained. Suning Appliance Co rose after the company plans to open 370 new stores in the year.[/R]

Stocks in China region closed lower after crude oil prices touched $100 a barrel and unrest continue to spread in the Middle East and North Africa. Libya splits as Gaddafi loyalists defend Tripoli but opponents control most of Eastern region.

World markets were on the slide on the worries that unrest could spread to more oil producing nations as Bahrain, neighboring Saudi Arabia struggles with protests.

Crude oil closed at 30-month high in New York and London trading.

The Shanghai Composite Index added 0.6% to 2,878.60 and the CSI index added 0.5% to 3,190.94.

Hang Seng index declined 1.3% or 305.68 to 22,601.04 tracking lower markets in Asia and Europe.

Hong Kong dollar declined for the third day in a row and closed at HK$7.798 to a U.S. dollar.

Stock Movers

Beijing Zhongke Sanhuan High-Tech Co., the maker of magnetic products decreased 2.1% to 29.05 yuan after it confirmed plans to raise as much as 600 million yuan or $91 million in a private placement of 27 million shares.

Shipping companies in Hong Kong trading fell for the second day in a row after freight rate index in London fell. China Merchants Holdings declined 5.1% to HK$31.45 and Cosco Pacific fell 3.5% to HK$14.24.

Huayi Brothers Media Corp increased 3% to 28 yuan after full-year net rose 81% to 152.6 million yuan.

Oil refining companies fell sharply as crude oil prices surged. PetroChina fell 1.5% to HK$10.22 and Sinopec dropped 4.3% to HK$7.66.

Suning Appliance Co increased 6.3% to 13.65 yuan after it announced a plan to open 370 new stores and increase its total store count to 1,700. The news was first reported in China Business News.

Hong Kong property developers rebounded a day after budget speech of finance secretary John Tsang. Cheung Kong decreased 0.7% to HK$116.60 and Sun Hung Kai Properties rose 0.3% to HK$121.40.

Tibet Mineral Development Co. increased 1.1% to 32.50 yuan after it received an approval to sell new shares in a private placement.