Optimism puts shine on jewellery stocks
Chow Sang Sang and Luk Fook shares gain on expectations of boost from mainland recovery
Stocks of local jewellers and department store operators rallied yesterday as investors scouted for market laggards in anticipation of greater consumer buying power on rising optimism that the mainland's economic recovery is firmly on track.
Jeweller Chow Sang Sang, which gained only 3 per cent compared with the Hang Seng's 23 per cent advance last year, yesterday shot up 12.81 per cent to finish at HK$21.05. Gome, the country's largest home appliance retailer whose market value was almost halved last year, climbed 10.42 per cent to finish at HK$1.06.
"As a China recovery play, investors have recently been chasing sectors that were underweight last year," Core Pacific-Yamaichi research head Castor Pang Wai-sun said.
As a result, underperforming segments such as consumer and energy stocks would continue to see strong interest, he said.
Local jewellers also got an extra boost yesterday from a Morgan Stanley report that said stronger sales growth this year could mean a re-rating for the industry.