HK stocks gain modestly on shrinking turnover

HONG KONG, June 6 (Xinhua) -- Hong Kong stocks rose modestly on Friday but trading remained quiet as investors continued to weigh the uncertainty over the Chinese mainland and the United States.

Encouraged by Wall Street's sharp gains overnight, the benchmark Hang Seng Index rose 250.31 points, or 1.03 percent, to open at 24,505.6 and once jumped 269.3 points, or 1.11 percent, to the day's highest 24,524.59 during the morning session.

Momentum of the market subsided in the afternoon after stocks on the Chinese mainland fell, triggering profit-taking moves and cutting the market's gains to 146.89 points, or 0.61 percent, to close at 24,402.18, merely off the day's lowest 24,392.82.

Turnover further shrank to 58.62 billion HK dollars (7.51 billion U.S. dollars) from Thursday's 63.69 billion HK dollars (8.16 billion U.S. dollars), one of the lowest levels in recent weeks.

Blue-chip heavyweight HSBC, which accounts for the largest weighting of the Hang Seng Index, stood unchanged at 131.3 HK dollars.

Heavily traded China Mobile, the largest mobile phone operator in the country and the market's largest stock measured by capitalization, inched up 0.53 percent to 114.9 HK dollars.

Energy companies all rose as oil prices climbed above 128 U.S. dollars a barrel in Asia. PetroChina, the country's largest oil producer, gained 1.29 percent to 11 HK dollars. Sinopec, Asia's largest refiner, rose 2.87 percent to 8.25 HK dollars. China's largest offshore oil producer CNOOC surged 3.08 percent to 13.38 HK dollars.

Most of Hong Kong's property companies rose modestly. Sun Hung Kai Properties, the largest house developer in Hong Kong, inched up 0.24 percent to 126.7 HK dollars.

Cheung Kong, one of the biggest housing companies controlled by tycoon Li Ka-shing, advanced 0.72 percent to 125.9 HK dollars. Sino Land went up 2.2 percent to 19.52 HK dollars. New World Development rose 1.91 percent to 19.2 HK dollars. Hang Lung added 0.35 percent to 28.55 HK dollars.

Henderson Land dipped 0.27 percent to 54.75 HK dollars.

China Enterprise Index, or H-shares, which was composed of 43 companies registered on the Chinese mainland, bounced 158.17 points, or 1.18 percent, to close at 13,513.12 though stock markets in Shanghai and Shenzhen of the Chinese mainland fell 0.66percent to 1.06 percent respectively.

Coal sectors rebounded from downwards corrections during past days as different provinces in China ordered coal producer to cut their prices to ensure the operation of coal-burning power plants. China Shenhua, the country's largest coal producer, bounced 2.11 percent to 33.9 HK dollars. Yanzhou Coal rebounded 3.71 percent to15.65 HK dollars. China Coal added 1.14 percent to 15.92 HK dollars.

Major Chinese banks and insurers listed in Hong Kong rose modestly. Heavily traded ICBC, China's largest lender, increased 1. 38 percent to 5.87 HK dollars. China Life, the country's largest insurance company, added 0.99 percent to 30.75 HK dollars. Bank of China, the country's second largest bank, went up 0.51 percent to 3.92 HK dollars. China Construction Bank, the third largest bank in China, went up 1.03 percent to 6.89 HK dollars. Bank of Communications rose 0.39 percent to 10.19 HK dollars. PingAn added 1.18 percent to 64.2 HK dollars.

Shenzhen-based China Merchants Bank recovered 0.92 percent to 27.3 HK dollars. BNP Paribas cut Merchants Bank's target to 31.19 HK dollars from 33.38 HK dollars, holding a "negative" on its planned purchase of Hong Kong lender Wing Lung Bank. Wing Lung slid 0.07 percent to 153.3 HK dollars. (7.8 HK dollars = 1 U.S. dollar)