HSI
+429.75
§29189.97 +1.49%
HSI FIN
+350.51
§43681.73 +0.81%
HSI UTI
+427.67
§38384.05 +1.13%
HSI PROP
+1,137.27
§37357.90 +3.14%
HSI COM&IND
+310.54
§16958.71 +1.87%
HSCEI
+310.35
§18027.21 +1.75%
HS Red-chip
+33.19
§6241.84 +0.53%
GEM
+6.73
§1494.50 +0.45%
Shanghai A Share Index 5,613.73 19.78
Shanghai B Share Index 353.56 -3.38
Shenzhen A Share Index 1,375.34 -8.36
Shenzhen B Share Index 747.96 -0.82
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Taiwan Weighted Index 8,970.92 33.34
Singapore Straits Times Index 3,606.85 -66.16
Nikkei 225 Index 15,659.34 -112.23
Seoul Composite Index 1,994.96 15.40
Thailand SET Index 877.43 3.79
KLSE Composite Index 1,397.94 -15.91
Indonesia Jakarta Composite Index 2,685.85 7.62
Hong Kong shares end morning higher led by property stocks - UPDATE
Hong Kong shares finished the morning session higher Friday led by gains in property stocks on hopes other local banks will follow HSBC Holdings' 25-basis-point cut in its local lending rates.
Analysts have been betting that Hong Kong banks will cut lending rates by a quarter of a percentage point soon amid strong liquidity, which has sent the interbank rate to new lows.
The three-month Hong Kong Interbank Offered Rate (HIBOR) fell to 3.48 percent yesterday, down from 3.8 percent Wednesday and significantly below its Oct 17 high of 5.5 percent.
""A reduction in local rates, of course, is beneficial to the property sector as this spurs demand for housing loans,"" said Peter Lai, investment manager at DBS Vickers.
""It helps the market sentiment-wise as major developers are among the index heavyweights,"" he said.
The Hang Seng Index was up 429.75 points or 1.5 percent at 29,189.97.
Turnover stood at 80.4 billion Hong Kong dollars.
HSBC reduced its lending rates by 25 basis points to 7 percent effective Monday. Other banks are expected to follow. Europe's largest bank was last down 1.10 Hong Kong dollars or 0.8 percent at 141.30 dollars.
Analysts are also still expecting the Federal Reserve to cut rates again in December or January, saying the US economy would have slowed so much by then that the central bank would have to jumpstart the economy to prevent a recession.
Fed chairman Ben Bernanke said US economic growth will slow noticeably in the coming months and surging oil prices will stoke inflationary pressure.
Bernanke yesterday gave no clear signal as to where interest rates are headed. But some analysts said his comment that the Fed will ""act as needed"" meant he was not totally closing the door to more rate cuts, even though record oil prices and a weak dollar pose a threat to inflation.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost as much as 200 points during yesterday's session but managed to close just 33.73 points or 0.3 percent lower at 13,266.29.
Hong Kong property counters and banks led the index higher on hopes of lower interest rates.
Cheung Kong (Holdings), the developer controlled by billionaire Li Ka-shing, was up 3.30 Hong Kong dollars or 2.3 percent at 145.40.
Sun Hung Kai Properties, Hong Kong's biggest developer, gained 4.30 dollars or 2.9 percent to 151.20.
Sino Land, which has been buying government properties in the last two months, jumped 1.90 dollars or 7.5 percent to 27.20.
Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, the nation's biggest bank, rose 16 cents or 2.5 percent to 6.53 dollars.
Bank of China, the No. 2 bank in the mainland, gained 11 cents or 2.4 percent to 4.74 dollars.
Aluminum Corp of China (Chalco) jumped 46 cents or 2.6 percent to 18.52 dollars. Chalco's parent, the nation's biggest metal producer, is forecasting sales of 130 billion yuan this year, a senior company official said, without giving last year's figure.
Cathay Pacific was down 10 cents or 0.5 percent to 20.30 dollars. Hong Kong's largest airline said Thursday it is acquiring seven passenger aircraft and 10 freighters from Boeing valued at 5.2 billion US dollars. The airline will take delivery of the new planes between 2009 and 2012.
China Construction Bank rose 25 cents or 3.2 percent to 8.01 dollars. China's third-biggest bank has no plans for major acquisitions at the moment, though it will open a representative office in Sydney by the end of the month and has applied to open a branch in Vietnam, bank president Zhang Jianguo said. The Sydney office will be upgraded to a branch soon, he said.
Li & Fung fell 1.30 dollars or 3.9 percent to 32 on profit-taking after recent gains. The Hong Kong-based exporter of apparel and other consumer goods to US and European department stores said its order book for the coming spring has been filled, downplaying the impact of the subprime mortgage crisis on consumer spending, the South China Morning Post reported Friday.
