HOME    NEWS    SPECIAL REPORT    PHOTO    COMMENTARY    VOICE
NEWS > Taiwan/HK
HK share prices climb 1.65%, unfazed by China's rate hikes
2007-03-18 13:36:10 Xinhua English

HONG KONG, March 19 (Xinhua) -- Share prices on Hong Kong Stock Exchange rose 1.65 percent higher on Monday as investors were unmoved by China's central bank's 0.27 percent rise of its one-year benchmark interest rates on Sunday.

The benchmark Hang Seng Index opened higher at 19,006.15 and fluctuated between 18,967.41 and 19,267.83 before moving up 313.24 points, or 1.65 percent, to close Monday's trading near the intra-day high at 266.74.

Market turnover, however, dropped to 38 billion HK dollars (4.87 billion U.S. dollars) from Friday's 43 billion HK dollars (5.5 billion U.S. dollars) on Friday.

All of the four sub-indices rose with the entire market. The Commerce and Industry surged 2.12 percent to 10,452.54. The Properties climbed 1.5 percent to 22,629.28. The Finance went up 1.24 percent to 30,507.52 and the Utilities increased 1.06 percent to 34,525.74.

HSBC, the largest stock measured by market capitalization in Hong Kong, inched up 0.75 percent to 134.7 HK dollars, lifting the blue-chip Hang Seng Index by 28 points.

Another market heavyweight China Mobile, or the country's largest mobile phone operator, jumped 3.37 percent to 72.15 HK dollars ahead of its results on Wednesday.

Property counters were strong, Sino Land and New World both soared 4 percent to 16.36 HK dollars and 17.52 HK dollars respectively. SHK Property rose 1.97 percent to 88.05 HK dollars.

China stocks were also higher, with H-share index ending up 1.23 percent to 9,225.26.

China's banking sectors were stronger. ICBC, China's largest lender, rose 1.18 percent to 4.29 HK dollars. Bank of China picked up 1.86 percent to 3.84 HK dollars. China Construction Bank moved up 0.92 percent to 4.39 HK dollars. China Merchants Bank added 1.8 percent to 15.62 HK dollars. China Life, the country's largest life insurer, soared 4.05 percent to 21.85 HK dollars.

PetroChina rose 0.81 percent to 8.73 HK dollar. Sinopec remained unchanged at 5.89 HK dollars.

MORE NEWS
HK movie festival hopes to boost profile with inaugural Asian Film Awards  
HK authorities take measures against fake banknotes as fears brewing  
Cross-Strait Qingming Festival charter flights scheduled  
Stars gather in HK for inaugural Asian Film Awards  
Former Taiwan opposition leader sets up headquarters for "presidential" election  
Macao CE meets U.S. Treasury official  
Macao bank says it will challenge US allegations  
Mainland to further remove tariffs of 19 categories of Taiwan agricultural products  

SINA English is the English-language destination for news and information about China. Find general information on life, culture and travel in China through our news and special reports£¬or find business partners through our online Business Directory. For investment opportunities with SINA, please click the link "Investor" below.
| About SINA | Investor | Media Kit | Comments or Question? |
Copyright © 1996- SINA Corporation, All Rights Reserved