A CLAMOUR for HSBC Holdings shares following the announcement of a fivefold increase in pre-tax profit at its UK subsidiary Midland Bank catapulted the Hang Seng Index up 143.34 points to a close of 7,307.54, a two per cent rise.
HSBC, which accounts for 14.8 per cent of the index, rose $4 to close at $80, a record for the stock. The rise contributed 60 points to the index gain.
Nomura Research head Clive Weedon said: ''Everyone jumped on to the back of HSBC. Once the market shot up, people started jumping in.'' On Wednesday Midland Bank announced a pre-tax profit of GBP385 million (about HK$4.49 billion). This compared with interim profit the previous year of GBP60 million.
Analysts said the boost in interim profits at Midland was mostly due to the treasury operations of HSBC and Midland having been combined after the completion of the Midland takeover last summer.
Mr Weedon expects some profit-taking on the market today.
Blue chips rose across the board as bargain hunters preyed on the market, swelling turnover to $4.69 billion.