Stocks Fall on Lack of News
April 03, 2011
The blue-chip Hang Seng Index fell 47.01 to 10798.29. The broader All Ordinaries Index lost 18.57 to 5229.34. ``It's thin trading within a range,'' said K.K. Belt, a broker at Dao Heng Securities Ltd.. Coming back from the weekend, investors had little market-moving news to trade on, Mr. Belt said. But he said that last Friday's slip on Wall Street gave participants an opportunity to engage in mild selling. Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 37.36 to 5426.82. Volume dropped to 3.68 billion Hong Kong dollars from the preceding session's HK$5.49 billion. HSBC Holdings rose 50 Hong Kong cents to HK$121.50 while its subsidiary Hang Seng Bank Ltd. dropped 50 cents to HK$76.25. Among the key subindexes, the financials posted the only gain, rising 0.04%. Devon Wynne, director at Vickers Ballas Hong Kong Ltd., said with scant news in the market, participants turned to specific stocks, notably in the banking and property sectors. `The upcoming interim results are attracting interest to the banks,'' he said. He said investors are anticipating a rash of good earnings reports. The utilities lost 0.3%. HongKong Telecommunications Ltd. slipped 5 cents to HK$12.90 while China Light & Power fell 10 cents to HK$33.40. The property subindex plunged 0.9%. Developer Cheung Kong (Holdings) Ltd. fell 25 cents to HK$54 while Sun Hung Kai Properties Ltd. fell HK$1 to HK$74.25. A slower property market is damping interest in property shares, Mr. Wynne said. And the commercial and industrial subindex slipped 0.5%. Conglomerate Hutchison Whampoa Ltd. dropped 60 cents to HK$47.10 while Wharf (Holdings) Ltd. climbed 30 cents to HK$27.30. Traders said they weren't aware of any reason for the move. The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index, which tracks the Chinese Class H, ended at 790.20, down 3.48 points. Among stocks, bullion retailer Tem Fat Hing Fung Holdings Ltd. scorched its way up the most active list, notching HK$105 million in volume. Its shares rose 4 cents to HK$1.55. The traders said speculators were behind the rise in prices. Infrastructure builder Hopewell Holdings Ltd. bucked market trend and gained 7.5 cents to HK$4.375.
