Shares Are Down on Rate Fears
May 15, 2011
The blue-chip Hang Seng Index dropped 52.45 to 11,106.57. Volume was 2.85 billion Hong Kong dollars. The U.S. Treasury long bond yield rose above 7.0% to 7.11% on Friday, triggering fears that interest rates may rise before the November presidential election, traders said. U.S. markets are closed Monday for the Labor Day holiday. The day's most active stock, banking group HSBC Holdings, dropped HK$1.50 to HK$132.00. The broader All Ordinaries Index, meanwhile, declined 20.85 to 5346.80. Among the key subindexes, the financials sank 0.8%. HSBC unit Hang Seng Bank ended unchanged at its day-high of HK$79.25, after trading as low as HK$78.25, while Bank of East Asia sank 30 Hong Kong cents to HK$27.75. The utilities fell 0.4%. Hongkong Telecommunications fell 5 cents to HK$12.90, and China Light & Power dropped 40 cents to HK$32.50. Hongkong Telecom said earlier Monday that it will receive HK$4.6 million from Asia Satellite Telecommunications Holdings for building an earth station facility to track and control one of its satellites. The newly listed satellite operator lost 30 cents to HK$19.95 in light trading. The property subindex, meanwhile, fell 0.2%. Developer Cheung Kong Holdings bucked the trend, jumping 25 cents to HK$54.50 while its conglomerate affiliate Hutchison Whampoa rose 10 cents to HK$46.90.
VastPress 2011 Vastopolis
