Foreign Buying Bolsters Shares
May 03, 2011
The blue-chip Hang Seng Index surged 123.99 to 11436.50, while the broader All Ordinaries Index gained 45.35 to 5458.45. Volume was valued at 5.88 billion Hong Kong dollars. ``The index has gone through 11400 (points) on enormous buying interest because there's no uncertainties about the interest rate until November,'' said Goulet Chanda, a director at Tai Fook Securities Ltd.. Overnight, the U.S. Federal Reserve's policy-setting arm left interest rates unchanged, which most local investors expected. Foreign investors mainly bought shares of HSBC Holdings, developer Cheung Kong (Holdings) and its affiliate Hutchison Whampoa. Cheung Kong and Farr, both controlled by Hong Kong billionaire Liana Ka-Korey, are scheduled to report their first-half results Thursday. Investors are expecting the earnings reports to be good due to the group's spinoff of U.K.-based telecommunications concern Orange earlier this year. Cheung Kong rose 25 Hong Kong cents to HK$56.75 and Hutchison gained 40 cents to HK$49. The financial subindex climbed 1.3%. Hang Seng Bank jumped 75 cents to HK$81, while Bank of East Asia rose 20 cents to HK$28.60. The utilities subindex added 1.6% to 9831.04. Hongkong Telecommunications soared 25 cents to HK$13.35, and China Light & Power rose 30 cents to HK$33.60. The property subindex advanced 0.7%. New World Development rose 50 cents to HK$38.10, Henderson Land Development jumped 50 cents to HK$61.50 and Sun Hung Kai Properties climbed 50 cents to HK$77.50. The commercial and industrial subindex added 1.0%. Mainland-backed CITIC Pacific climbed 50 cents to HK$35.20, and Swire Pacific's Class A shares rose 75 cents to HK$68.50. The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index, which tracks mainland Class H shares, edged up 0.05%. Guangdong Investment rose 30 cents to HK$5.65 after placing 80 million shares at HK$5.22 late Tuesday.
