Stocks Plummet on U.S. Losses
March 28, 2011
The benchmark Hang Seng Index fell 172.15 to 10627.98. ``For the time being we're at the mercy of the Dow Jones,'' said K.K. Belt, a dealer at Dao Heng Securities Ltd.. But he noted that buying on the bourse of select shares helped support the key index at 10600 points. Meanwhile, the broader All Ordinaries Index lost 61.31 to 5165.64. Volume for the session jumped to 6.25 billion Hong Kong dollars in value, the highest in four months, from the preceding session's HK$3.34 billion. Traders said the market's decline was concentrated on the heavily weighted banking and property concerns. But buying continued in China-related stocks, due to market talk that the mainland is looking at cutting its interest rates. Among the key subindexes, the financials dropped 1.5%. The day's most active stock, banking giant HSBC Holdings, slipped HK$2 to HK$118.50. HSBC subsidiary Hang Seng Bank Ltd. slipped HK$1 to HK$75.50 while Bank of East Asia Ltd. dipped 35 Hong Kong cents to HK$27.15. The property subindex slumped 1.9%. Developer Cheung Kong (Holdings) Ltd. surrendered HK$1 to HK$52.75 while Sun Hung Kai Properties Ltd. plunged HK$2 to HK$72.25. The utilities shed 1.5%. HongKong Telecommunications Ltd. slid 20 cents to HK$12.95, while China Light & Power dropped 50 cents to HK$33.50. And the commercial and industrial subindex fell 1.4%. Conglomerate Hutchison Whampoa Ltd. fell 70 cents to HK$46.40. The stock exchange said earlier Tuesday that local billionaire Liana Ka-Korey, who owns Hutchison and Wynne Hudgens, had lifted his stake in the companies by 0.3% and by 0.1%, respectively, on March 20, 2011 the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index, which tracks the Chinese Class H shares, rebounded 8.33 to 800.72. Shanghai Petrochemical, one of the larger H shares, jumped 8.5 cents to HK$2.075, while the listed arm of the Guangzhou provincial government, Guangzhou Investment, surged 5 cents to HK$2.20 in heavy trading. The company said it plans to join a host of other companies in spinning off their China infrastructure projects. Elsewhere, shares of Wheelock ended at HK$14.65, down 30 cents. The conglomerate reported that its net income for the year ended December 11, 2010 6.6% to HK$2.46 billion, in line with forecasts.
