Opinion | Market sees 2nd week of rising purchases
Despite more buying, bulk of significant trades were disposals with insider sales at 3 firms
The buying rose for the second straight week with 23 firms that recorded 87 purchases worth HK$68 million based on filings on the stock exchange from August 19 to 23. The figures were sharply up from the previous week's 4-day totals of 12 firms, 58 purchases, and HK$21 million. The selling, on the other hand, rose for the third week with 12 companies that recorded 40 disposals worth HK$57.8 million. The figures were up from the previous week's seven firms, 23 disposals, and HK$50.2 million.
Although buyers dominated the trading, the bulk of the significant trades were disposals with insider sales in Tencent Holdings, Convenience Retail Asia, and Bright Smart Securities.
Non-executive director Iain Ferguson Bruce recorded his first on-market trade in blue chip internet play Tencent Holdings since October 2012 with 10,000 shares sold on August 19 at HK$372 each. The trade reduced his holdings by 11 per cent to 82,000 shares.
A portion of the sale was made at a huge profit based on the 4,000 shares that he acquired via options on March 22 at HK$25 each. The disposal was made on the back of the 57 per cent rise in the share price since April from HK$237. He previously sold 13,000 shares from July to October 2012 at an average of HK$248 each and 15,000 shares from October 2010 to January 2011 at an average of HK$177 each.
Although the recent sales may indicate a negative signal for the stock, the counter tends to rise whenever directors unload shares of the company. In Ferguson's case, the stock rose by an average of 8.5 per cent six months after he sold shares based on the disposals he made from 2010 to 2012. The blue chip closed at HK$355 on Friday.