TRADING rooms across Hongkong were buzzing for the first time in weeks yesterday as brokers tried to complete orders from investors frantically trying to get a slice of another Hongkong stock surge. Since the Governor announced his now infamous democracy plans for Hongkong on October 7, brokers have seen the Hang Seng Index plummet twice and skyrocket four times - but, of course, nothing like yesterday's burster. Some broking houses could barely cope with the size of the orders pouring in by phone, fax and messenger. By day's end, a staggering $7.7 billion had coursed through the veins of the Central business district. Mr Stuart Gregory, an institutional salesman with Morgan Grenfell (Asia) Securities, caught the mood. ''Tempers flared but we hung in there,'' he said. The run sank in fully when he had to grab the third phone, which had been collecting a thin layer of dust in recent weeks of modest turnover. Mr Patrick Allen, head of institutional sales with Crosby Securities, said most of the company's dealers were still busy at 6.30 pm - three hours after the market closed. While some enjoyed the thrill of the bull run, others seem to be inured to Hongkong's wildly fluctuating fortunes. Mr K. S. Ng, director with Barclays de Zoete Wedd (Asia), said the atmosphere in his trading room was fairly calm. ''We're conditioned to Hongkong's sharp swings,'' he said. ''We've got used to political disturbances.'' The stock market lost 20 per cent of its value in six months of frosty political bickering. The outbreak of the Sino-British row in early December steered the Hang Seng Index down to 4,978, a massive 36.4 per cent lower than yesterday's close of 6,789. A minor rally from mid-December took the index to around 5,900 over Chinese New Year, a traditional period of upward movement when people expect good luck to come with the new Lunar Year. Rumours of Sino-British talks pushed the index to a new record high, at the time, of 6,508 on March 9. The hope of talks, however, was in vain and the gazetting of Hongkong's democracy bill sent the index nose-diving again. But with the talks on again, in a victory for common sense as the Governor put it, yesterday the Year of the Rooster was crowing all the way to the bank.
