Hong Kong shares end lower, but developers provide support
09/08/2017 09:10
Aug 9 (Reuters) - Hong Kong shares closed lower, mirroring
regional peers hurt by mounting tensions on the Korean
peninsula, but property firms rose, encouraged by a spin-off
plan by a local developer.
The Hang Seng index .HSI fell 0.4 percent to 27,757.09
points, easing off more than two-year highs hit on Tuesday,
while the China Enterprises Index .HSCE lost 1.1 percent to
10,962.60 points.
Developers performed strongly after Hong Kong-based
conglomerate Wharf Holdings 0004.HK said that its unit Wharf
Real Estate Investment Co Ltd would submit an application for a
separate listing on the main board urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N1KV2SS.
Wharf leaped 14 percent higher while fellow developer
Henderson Land Development Co 0012.HK ended up 2.6 percent.
Alex Wong, director at Ample Finance Group in Hong Kong,
said that the market was upbeat about the Wharf spin-off. "This
also pushed up other developers because people think if they do
similar things then they will get revalued as well," he said.
Tensions over North Korea, which battered stock markets in
Japan and South Korea, were not as keenly felt in Hong Kong,
Wong said.
Tencent Holdings 0700.HK , which succumbed to profit-taking
in the morning session, ended the day up 0.5 percent at a third
consecutive record high of HK$330.20.
Tencent's rise has powered the Hang Seng index in recent
days on investor optimism over the company's second-quarter
results, due Aug. 16. Tencent shares have risen nearly 70
percent this year.
The index measuring price differences between dual-listed
companies in Shanghai and Hong Kong .HSCAHPI stood at 126.59.
A value above 100 indicates Shanghai shares are pricing at a
premium to shares in the same company trading in Hong Kong, and
vice versa.
(Reporting by Andrew Galbraith; Editing by Jacqueline Wong)
((Andrew.Galbraith@tr.com; +86 21 6104 1779; Reuters Messaging:
andrew.galbraith.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net ; Twitter: https://twitter.com/apgalbraith))
Keywords: CHINA STOCKS/HONGKONG CLOSE