Hong Kong stocks rose more than 1 per cent yesterday, following in the wake of Wall Street's 2.6 per cent gain on Tuesday, the second-largest one-day points rise. The Hang Seng Index advance was tempered, however, as worries persisted over the property market. Mansion House Securities head of research Stanley Ng said: 'People are still a little worried about the property market. Even if they are confident in the long term, they are not willing to make aggressive moves.' The Hang Seng Index ended at 12,707.04, up 126.19 points. Turnover also looked more bullish, registering $9.89 billion, up from $8.73 billion on Tuesday. Among blue chips, banking stocks were the most buoyant, enjoying the afterglow of Wall Street's advance, while remaining largely immune to Hong Kong's property worries. HSBC, the parent company of Hongkong Bank, climbed 1.34 per cent to $189.50. Hang Seng Bank was up 1.18 per cent to $85.50. The stronger property counters were Sun Hung Kai Properties, up 1.57 per cent to $81, and Henderson Land, 1.54 per cent to $66. Swire Pacific continued to drift lower, losing a further 0.44 per cent to $56.75. The stock could rise today as it announced after yesterday's close that it was embarking on a $25 billion residential project with Sun Hung Kai Properties. With the exception of China Resources Enterprise, red chips took a break from their recent rally yesterday. Mr Ng warned that red chips, which lack strong mainland backing, could correct in the coming months. 'Only those that can continue to acquire assets will continue to outperform,' he said. H shares were mixed. Dongfang Electrical rose 6.89 per cent to $2.325, while Tsingtao Brewery dropped 9.33 per cent to $3.40, after rising 7.14 per cent on Tuesday. Seapower Securities senior sales manager Samuel Ho said: 'It looks like most of the interest focused on second liners.' Island Dyeing and Printing rose 4.23 per cent to $9.85 after it won initial approval from the Government to build a hotel and residential complex on the site of its Kwai Chung factory. Analysts and brokers say the Hang Seng Index will have trouble breaking above its current levels without the help of overseas funds. Mr Ho said: 'Unless you see funds from the US and Europe, it is hard to tell what will happen.' In a sign of caution, Hong Kong Telecommunications, Swire Pacific, Hopewell and Hang Lung Development each saw large amounts of registered short-selling yesterday.
