Construction contractor Hansom Holdings, whose shares have rocketed 228 per cent in the past eight trading days, will be suspended from trading today and may be investigated for alleged market manipulation, sources say.
Brokers said the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) was investigating parties behind the sudden surge in the counter's share price.
Some brokers, who asked not to be named, said they had been asked to surrender information about investors dealing in Hansom shares.
They said rumours of a possible suspension curbed trading yesterday, but speculative activity remained strong sending the share price up 14 per cent to $2.625.
Its shares had already jumped 34 per cent on Tuesday and yesterday's closing price was a record high since the company listed on March 30, 1992.
The SFC said yesterday it would not comment on individual companies. The stock exchange did not return calls.
The SFC's director of enforcement, Mark Dickens, would only comment enigmatically: 'We catch small fish, big fish, Hong Kong fish and China fish.' Under the listing rules, the stock exchange can suspend dealing in listed companies whenever they find unusual price movements or trading volume, or if their representatives cannot be reached to explain the reasons behind the movements.