LAGGARDS again led the charge yesterday as the Hang Seng Index continues its record-breaking romp, climbing 44.29 points to close at 7,605.26.
As the market tested still another new high, investors began hunting for good-quality laggards which had been neglected by buyers looking to blue chips awaiting interim and final results.
Buyers pushed Hongkong Telecom up 40 cents to $11.90 on turnover of $151.45 million, which in turn pulled the index up 25.59 points.
Peregrine sales director Chris Malpass said Hongkong Telecom had under-performed in relation to its importance in the index, accounting for 9.6 per cent of the index weighting.
Brokers said many overseas investors snapped up the stock in a day marked by rotational buying.
Brokers believe the record-breaking jumps by the Hang Seng Index in recent days have caused investors to become more cautious.