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HK, China shares advance on PMI push

Published 08/03/2009, 01:28 AM
Updated 08/03/2009, 01:32 AM
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(Updates to midday)

HONG KONG/SHANGHAI, Aug 3 (Reuters) - Hong Kong and China shares gained on Monday as positive factory activity data for July indicated that economic recovery was on firmer ground, encouraging money to pour into the power, steel and oil sectors.

CLSA's China Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI), a key gauge of the country's manufacturing sector, rose to a one-year high in July as resurgent domestic demand spurred manufacturing activity in the world's third-largest economy. The CLSA data dovetailed with that of China's official PMI released on Saturday.

"Looking forward, exports are stabilising, fiscal stimulus is gaining traction and private investment is coming back," said analysts with Bank of America-Merill Lynch.

Investors appeared to shrug off worries about a possible clamp down on bank lending or even a tightening of monetary policy, which triggered last Wednesday's sell-off.

Here are the index moves and major stocks moves in both markets by midday-

HONG KONG

* The benchmark Hang Seng Index was up 0.6 percent at 20,701.59, after brushing past an 11-month high above 20,786 points earlier, with shares worth HK$40.3 billion changing hands.

* Tencent, which operates China's largest online messaging community, jumped 6.7 percent to HK$111.60 after Credit Suisse raised its target price on the stock to HK$118.20 from HK$86. The investment house reiterated its "outperform" rating on the stock and raised Tencent's estimated earnings per share for 2009 by 6 percent on higher gaming and advertising revenues.

* The China Enterprises Index, which represents top locally listed mainland Chinese stocks, was 1.2 percent higher at 12,265.52.

* The strong PMI data spurred buying in metal and refinery stocks, helping Sinopec Shanghai Petrochemical soar 10.1 percent to HK$3.92.

* Gold miner Zijin Mining expanded 6.2 percent as the price of the precious metal built on Friday's steep gains as the dollar slid to its lowest level in 2009 amid growing investor risk appetite.

* Jiangxi Copper also shone, advancing 5.9 percent, as Shanghai price of the base metal hit its daily 7 per cent upside limit earlier, aided by economic optimism and a weaker dollar.

* China Shipping Container Lines vaulted 8.9 percent despite flagging a loss in the first half of 2009, as investors bet trade will pick up in the coming months as global economy shows signs of being on the mend.

SHANGHAI

* The Shanghai Composite Index ended the morning up 1.10 percent at 3,449.558 points on Monday, climbing for a third session in a row as the market recouped nearly all of the losses from last Wednesday's sell-off.

* Gaining Shanghai A shares outnumbered losers by 665 to 260. Turnover in Shanghai A shares rose to 126.8 billion yuan ($18.6 billion) from Friday morning's 111 billion yuan.

* "The rally is not over yet. The index could move above the previous 14-month intraday high of 3,454 points, as basic policy remains unchanged," said Zhou Lin, an analyst at Huatai Securities.

* Steel shares climbed after the official Shanghai Securities News reported that the Chinese steel industry's profit in July may have exceeded 20 billion yuan, for its largest monthly gain in eight years, as domestic prices rose.

Steel reinforcing bar futures traded on the Shanghai Futures Exchange also surged 4 percent on Monday.

Wuhan Steel jumped 4.42 percent to 12.04 yuan.

* Spirits makers outperformed, with Kweichow Moutai <600519.SS> and Sichuan Swellfun up around 4 percent. China will levy higher consumption taxes on high-end spirits makers starting on Aug. 1, but the shares rose on expectations that the tax increase would provide a pretext for significant product price increases.

* Power companies jumped for a second day. Datang International Power Generation surged 9.17 percent to 11.43 yuan, extending last Friday's climb after the announcement of an expected jump in first-half profit. Yangtze Power gained 2.22 percent to 16.09 yuan after announcing a generous bonus share plan for shareholders.

* China Southern Airlines advanced 4.28 percent to 7.31 yuan after saying it planned to sell six A300 aircraft for $125 million in a deal that would generate about 46.58 million yuan in profit.

* Shenzhen Development Bank lost 3.06 percent to 25.38 yuan after having been suspended since July 30. The index has gained 3.85 percent during that time.

The shares gained 3 percent last Wednesday, when the index dived 5 percent in its biggest one-day drop of the year, after domestic media reported it would announce a bonus share plan for shareholders. It later said it had not yet made any decisions on mid-year dividend plans. (Reporting by Parvathy Ullatil in HONG KONG and Claire Zhang in SHANGHAI; Editing by Edmund Klamann and Chris Lewis)

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