HK stocks finish 0.17% higher

Hong Kong shares rose on Monday thanks to gains of so-called red-chip stocks and local properties.

The benchmark Hang Seng index closed up 35.89 points, or 0.17 percent, to end at 20,726.68 points, after trading between a day high of 20,862.38 and a day low of 20,687.27 points.

Turnover totaled 45.04 billion HK dollars (5.79 billion U.S. dollars) compared with last Friday's 51.46 billion HK dollars.

Shares of mainland-affiliated companies, or so-called the red- chip stocks, gained in the day. The China-Affiliated Corporations Index, which tracks the performance of 34 locally listed companies with a significant equity interest held by entities in the Chinese mainland, rose 19.75 points, or 0.51 percent, to end at 3,908.59 points.

The properties sub-index, which covers 7 constituent stocks of the blue-chip Hang Seng Index, also added 130.40 points, or 0.5 percent, to finish at 26,460.42 points.

Chinese telecom giant China Unicom was the best-performing blue- chip of the day. Its shares jumped 4.68 percent to 10.74 HK dollars after the company posted stronger-than-expected 3G subscribers growth as it added over one million subscribers last month.

CNOOC, the HK-listed unit of China's National Offshore Oil Corp. , rose 2.52 percent to 13.84 HK dollars. The mainland's the other two leading oil companies, Sinopec and PetroChina, also gained slightly in the day.

Sinopec ended at 6.56 HK dollars, up 0.77 percent, while PetroChina closed at 8.93 HK dollars, up 0.22 percent.

China Resources Power, a subsidiary of conglomerate China Resources Holdings, rose 3.4 percent to end at 17.66 HK dollars.

Mainland heavyweight financials also gained the day. China Construction Bank, which accounts for the second largest weighting of the Hang Seng Index, moved up 0.75 percent to 6.75 HK dollars.

ICBC, the world's largest bank by market value, edged up 0.34 percent to 5.89 HK dollars. Bank of China rose 0.25 percent to 4. 07 HK dollars.

Banking giant HSBC, which accounts for the third largest weighting of the Hang Seng Index, lost 0.33 percent to 75.05 HK dollars.

Shares of China Mobile, the world's largest mobile operator by subscribers which accounts for the largest weighting of the Hang Seng Index, edged down 0.32 percent to 78.75 HK dollars.

Hong Kong's property developers ended mixed. Sun Hung Kai Property, one of the largest property companies in Asia, rose 1.26 percent to 112.70 HK dollars. Another property New World Developer edged up 1.87 percent to 13.1 HK dollars. Sino Land gained 2.23 percent to 14.68 HK dollars. (1 U.S. dollar equals to 7. 784 HK dollars)

Cheung Kong Holding, a powerful HK-based developer controlled by billionaire Li Ka-shing, lost 0.37 percent to end at 93.60 HK dollars. Hang Lung Properties fell 0.82 percent to 30.35 HK dollars. (1 U.S. dollar equals to 7.784 HK dollars)

Source:Xinhua