Cheung Kong and Hutchison both surge after Morgan Stanley raises target price for the property developer
Property developer Cheung Kong closed at its highest for 31/2 years yesterday helping the Hang Seng Index rise above the key 14,200-point level while turnover jumped to more than $21 billion.
The benchmark index rose 160.35 points, or 1.13 per cent, to end the day at 14,307.3, just one point below the inter-day high. The index traded between 14,140.4 and 14,308.37 during the session on turnover of $21.98 billion, up from $17.57 billion on Tuesday.
'Cheung Kong and Hutchison were the drivers of [yesterday's] upside as the index heavyweight HSBC was stagnant,' said Kenny Tang Sing-hing, an associate director at Tung Tai Securities.
Cheung Kong was the second-biggest blue-chip gainer, rising 3.69 per cent to $78.55, the highest closing level since February 2002, after Morgan Stanley lifted the target price of the company to $100 from $85.
The United States brokerage said in a report issued in the morning that the rise in Cheung Kong's target price was based on 'higher sales prices for the firm's Hong Kong developments and continued strong land acquisitions in Hong Kong, China and Singapore'. The report also had a more positive view on Hutchison, prompting the conglomerate's shares to jump 2.5 per cent to $73.80.