Hang Seng Index rises on strong financial, commodity stocks

Hong Kong stocks extends the upward trend on Thursday despite the slight fall in the U.S. market. The benchmark Hang Seng Index rose 392.2 points, or 1.64%, to 24,264.63, buoyed by strong gains of Chinese financial and commodity stocks.

Mainboard turnover dropped slightly to HK$91.5 billion, compared with HK$114.68 billion on Wednesday.

Hang Seng China Enterprise Index, which tracks the overall performance of 43 Chinese mainland state-owned enterprises on Hong Kong Stock Exchange, advanced 333.22 points or 2.58% to 13,137.57 points.

Ping An Insurance<601318><2318> outperformed other financial Chinese institutions yesterday on the announcement that it has finalized the deal with Fortis. Its shares rose 7.41% to HK$63.05, after a 5.58% gain on Wednesday.

The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China<601398><1398>, the largest lender in the country, rallied 1.2% to HK$5.88. China Construction Bank<601939><939>, the third-largest bank by market value, increased 3.33% to HK$6.52. Bank of China<601988><3988>, the second-largest bank, ended up 1.13% to HK$3.57. Bank of Communications<601328><3328>, partly owned by HSBC Holdings Plc<5>, added 2.03% to HK$10.06.

Property stocks are also winners yesterday. Sun Hung Kai Properties Ltd <16>, the largest house developer in Hong Kong, surged 2.86% to HK$133.2. Henderson Land Development Company Ltd<12> shot up 1.91% to HK$58.85. Cheung Kong (Holdings) Limited <1>, one of Hong Kong's largest real-estate developer owned by business giant Li Ka Shing, climbed 1.78% to HK$120. Sino Land<83> rose 3.85% to HK$18.90, and China Overseas Land<688> ended up 4.05% at HK$15.4.

Mainland gold miner Zijin Mining<2899> rose 4.67% to HK$7.17 after news that it has gained approval to list in Shanghai next week.

Telecom stocks performed mixed. China Telecom<728>, the largest fixed-line operator in China, shot up 1.6% to HK$5.07. China Mobile<941>, the largest mobile service provider, rose by 1.73% to HK$123.8. China Netcom<906> and China Unicom<600050><762> fell by 2.08% and 1.08% to close at HK$23.5 and HK$16.5 respectively.

Hong Kong Stock Exchange will be closed today for the Chinese Ching Ming Festival, and will resume trading next Monday.