HK Stocks Rebound; Li & Fung Drops 8%

123jump.com Staff
05 May, 2009
New York City

Hong Kong gained on the back of a rise in optimism in the U.S. The benchmark index has recovered 45% from its lows of March 10 and continues to gain as investor sentiment rebound. Li & Fung declined 8% after it planned to raise $350 million from the controlling shareholder.

[R]8:00PM Hong Kong, 8:00AM New York – Hong Kong gained on the back of a rise in optimism in the U.S. Li & Fung declined 8% after it planned to raise $350 million from the controlling shareholder.[/R]

Hong Kong stocks gained on the optimism after the release of U.S. home pending resale contracts increased. The benchmark index has recovered 45% from its lows of March 10 and continues to gain as investor sentiment rebound.

The Hang Seng index in Hong Kong increased 49.03 or 0.30% closed to 16,430.08, CSI 300 index in China higher 12.71 or 0.47% closed to 2,727.01.

Of the 42 stocks in the Hang Seng index, 21 increased, 20 declined and 1 was unchanged. In Shanghai and Shenzhen daily trading increased to 231.16 billion yuan from 221.65 billion yuan.

The economic recovery may not be on a solid footing as investors in the last five weeks have come to expect. The power generation in April may have fallen as much as 4% after dropped 0.7% in March to 286.7 Kwh.

The official data is expected to be released at the end of this month, but according to China Daily, data from State Grid Corporation of China showed that daily average national power generation declined 3.9% between April 11 and 20.

Gainers & Losers

Li & Fung declined 8.1% to HK$22.05 after the company said it will offer 120.3 million shares priced at HK$22.05 a share. The company raised $500 million in September and the recent offering will dilute existing shareholders.

Esprit Holdings increased 5.5% to HK$51.15 and Yue Yuen Industrial Holdings increased 1% to HK$17.48.

Bank of East Asia surged 6.7% to HK$21.25 after the Commercial times reported that the company held talks with Chinatrust Financial to explore joint marketing or business arrangement in wealth management and credit card businesses.

Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing added 2.8% on a resurgent trading volume in Hong Kong.

Zhejiang Expressway Company dropped 9.5% to HK$6.20 after it offered weak revenue outlook and the completion of competing new toll road highway.

China high Speed Transmission declined 3.5% to HK$13.98. Morgan Stanley sold its stake in the company of 65 million shares at a HK$13.30, a discount of 8.3% according to Reuters.

PetroChina increased 1.5% and CNOOC increased 3.27% in Hong Kong trading after increase in crude oil price in international prices.

Asian Markets Review

The Hang Seng index in Hong Kong increased 49.03 or 0.30% closed to 16,430.08, CSI 300 index in China higher 12.71 or 0.47% closed to 2,727.01. ASX 200 index in Australia increased 7.40 or 0.19% closed to 3,890.40. The KL Composite index in Malaysia lower 0.49 or 0.05% closed to 1,008.87.The Markets of Tokyo were closed today.

The JSE Index in Indonesia decreased 16.08 or 0.90% closed to 1,772.07. The Sensex index in India decreased 3.67 or 0.03% closed to 12,131.08. The Markets of South Korea and Thailand were closed today.