The Hang Seng Index rose sharply at the end of last week thanks to a breakthrough on the Greek sovereign debt crisis, involving more money and guarantees for the nation's teetering finances. The HSI rose 2.6 per cent last week as investors were reassured the country was not heading for default, a potential panic that could have engulfed Portugal, Ireland and Italy.
The stocks that have been hit hardest by the European situation had the biggest rebound, with Esprit (330) up 5.2 per cent and Li & Fung (494) rising 5.5 per cent on Friday.
Hutchison Whampoa (13), which is also heavily exposed to Europe, rose 5.3 per cent last week.
Otherwise, the Hong Kong market is, to the comfort of many, taking on a more local tone - less about the latest crisis hatching abroad and more about developments at home.
Semiconductor Manufacturing International (981) was hit following the resignation of chief executive David Wang, who was voted off the company board. The company announced his resignation on July 15. A former government minister has replaced Wang at the state-controlled firm, and analysts downgraded the stock after the news. It fell 19 per cent last week.
Mainland toll road operators such as the Anhui Expressway (995) and Sichuan Expressway (107) got knocked back following a bearish sector report from Citibank, which argued that the firms would suffer from dropping car traffic as the economy slowed, as well as eroding tariff income due to inflation. (See Ticker Board below).