bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

moreOnThisArticles

urlAlias

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

paywallTypes

corrections

sponsorType

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

socialHeadline

headline

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

publishedDate

additionalInfoBoxes

images

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

createdDate

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

SCMP Reporter

LOCAL stocks followed Wall Street lower in dwindling turnover yesterday.

  The Hang Seng Index fell 66.58 points or 0.68 per cent to close at 9,774.48.

  Turnover was anaemic at $2.64 billion, down from the revised $3.38 billion for Wednesday. Volume was light with 1.04 billion shares changing hands.

  Brokers said the main reason for the fall was again the poor performance of Wall Street. Without any local news, the market continues to take its cue from the United States.

  The Dow Jones industrial average dropped 29.98 points to 4,753.68 on Wednesday over concern problem consumer loans are increasing.

  Adding caution to local investors is the fact there is still a question mark over whether interest rates will be cut when the US Federal Reserve meets next month. There is also uncertainty over the next move of bond yields.

  Without firm news on either, most investors stayed on the sidelines.

  James Osborn, sales director at Baring Securities, said: 'The market is very very quiet at the moment. It is the quietest I have seen it for some time.

  'The market is a discounting mechanism and everything has already been discounted.'   The day opened with the index in retreat. Taking its cue from the Dow it fell from the previous close of 9,841.06 until selling pressure eased at 9,770.

  The index drifted sideways before slipping again to touch the day's low of 9,749.29. It closed the morning session at 9,770.33, an intra-day fall of 70.73 points.

  Afternoon trading was again lifeless although the index made up some ground towards the close.

  Among the 33 blue chips, one rose, seven closed unchanged and 25 lost value.

  Conglomerate Swire Pacific was hit the hardest, with the A share losing $1.75 or 2.9 per cent to $58.50. It led all stocks in turnover with $207.91 million.

  Analysts said concerns over the new competitor facing Cathay Pacific Airways was finally affecting its parent. Swire derives about 40 per cent of its earnings from the airline.

  Mr Osborn said: 'No one has really sold Swire yet. For the first time people decided they would take it out on Swire as well.'   Cathay closed unchanged at $11.45.

  Property stocks were under selling pressure with the Hang Seng sub-index losing 117.36 points to 17,045.20.

  New World Development fell 70 cents to $30.10, Sun Hung Kai Properties shed 25 to $60.75 and Cheung Kong lost 10 to $43.30.

  Banking counters were also down, with the Hang Seng finance sub-index dropping 41.75 points to 9,422.66.

  HSBC eased 50 cents to $113, Hang Seng Bank fell 25 to $64.50 and Bank of East Asia lost 20 to $27.30.

  The sole gainer among blue chips was China Light & Power, which climbed 10 cents to $40.60.

  The other utilities fared less well. Hongkong Telecom continued to be weak, losing 10 cents to $13.40, while Hongkong Electric fell 25 cents to $26.45 and Hong Kong and China Gas was unchanged at $12.55.

  Most second and third line counters attracted scant interest although a number did stand out.

  Computer disk maker Hanny Magnetics headed the list of percentage falls for the second day running. It fell 2.5 cents or 18.29 per cent to 11.2 cents.

  K.K. Low, dealer at Dao Heng Securities, said: 'There are buyers out there but they are holding out until the price is smashed down a bit further. At 10 cents, it should reach bottom.'   Hanny resumed trading on Wednesday after being suspended since October 9.

  Food importer Ng Fung Hong was again heavily traded on its second day on the market. It lost 2.5 cents to $3.45 on a turnover of $66.91 million.

  In the afternoon most attention focused on Emperor (China) and Emperor International, both of which soared in late trading.

  Emperor (China) rose 17 cents or 15.74 per cent to $1.25 and Emperor International climbed 30 cents or 12.37 per cent to $2.725.

  Brokers were unable to explain what motivated the buying.

  The Hang Seng MidCap 50 Index dropped 6.2 points to 1,256.79.

  The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index lost 4.89 points to 867.46.

  Looking ahead, the market is set to continue its trendless progress until it receives fresh impetus.

  Mr Low said: 'There is not much selling and we are likely to continue oscillating until we get some news.'   This may come once a clearer picture emerges of whether the US Fed would cut interest rates next month.



Hong Kong’s weekend property sales reach 4-month high after stamp duty cuts

New World Development reports losses as debt ratio worsens amid property slump

Trump’s escalated China tariff threat wipes away US$196 billion from Hong Kong stocks

Hong Kong bourse’s 2024 profit rises 10% to a record on surging stock transactions, IPOs

Hang Seng Index

Wall Street weakness sidelines investors