Hong Kong stocks trimmed its losses and softened 1.01 percent on Friday after the blue-chip Hang Seng Index set a new record Thursday by breaching the psychological 29,000 mark for the first time.
The benchmark Hang Seng Index fell 359.96 points, or 1.24 percent, to open at 28,773.06 Friday and lost as much as 764.33 points, or 2.62 percent, to the day's lowest level 28,368.69 during the morning session.
The index pared its losses in the afternoon session as bargain investors took the downwards correction as good reason for buying, trimming its losses to 294.65 points, or 1.01 percent, to close at 28,828.37.
Turnover rose to 195.28 billion HK dollars (25.22 billion U.S. dollars) from Thursday's 178.71 billion HK dollars (23.07 billion U.S. dollars). Friday's turnover was also the market's second largest turnover, just short of its highest record 209.8 billion HK dollars (27.08 billion U.S. dollars) set on Oct. 3.
Resources and oil companies outperformed the index as PetroChina, the country's largest oil producer, refreshed its record to 16.82 HK dollars and narrowed gains to 16.62 HK dollars.
Investors disregarded reports that Warren Buffett's Bershine Hathaway had further cut its holding in PetroChina shares to 3.1 percent. Analysts said the China oil giant held its momentum on soaring oil prices and on a new gas field discovery in northwest China's Xinjiang region.
Media reports from China's mainland said the field boasts an estimated reserve of 130 billion cubic meters.
Sinopec, Asia's largest oil refiner, also advanced 0.53 percent to 11.4 HK dollars. Angang Steel jumped 7.29 percent to 33.55 HK dollars. Maanshan Iron gained 2.25 percent to 8.64 HK dollars. CNOOC, China's largest offshore oil producer, dipped 0.3 percent to 13.54 HK dollars.
Xinjiang Xinxin Ming posted the best debt performance of this year so far, rocketing 120 percent to 14.24 HK dollars from its initial public offering price.
China Mobile, the market's largest stock measured by capitalization and the country's largest handset operator, softened 1.11 percent to 133.6 HK dollars.
HSBC, the market's second largest stock and Hong Kong's biggest bank, lost 0.53 percent to 149.9 HK dollars.
Property counters were mixed. New World Development rocketed 10. 04 percent to 25.2 HK dollars as Citigroup raised its target price to 27.5 HK dollars as reports said its net profit rose more than threefold. Cheung Kong edged up 0.07 percent to 136.1 HK dollars. Sinoland added 0.74 percent to 20.5 HK dollars. Hutchison dropped 1.34 percent to 84.85 HK dollars. SHK Properties slid 1.81percent to 130.1 HK dollars. Henderson Land fell 1.3 percent to 60.9 HK dollars. Hang Lung Prop fell 1.81 percent to 35.35 HK dollars.
H-share index, which reflected the performance of state-owned companies registered in China's mainland, fell 0.71 percent to 19,081.3 as stocks on the Chinese mainland dropped over worries of possible tightening measures.
Mainland-registered banking and insurer stocks were weaker. ICBC, China's largest lender, lost 2.06 percent to 6.66 HK dollars. CCB, China's second-largest bank, dropped 1.47 percent to7.4 HK dollars. Bank of China, the country's third-largest bank, plunged 2.29 percent to 4.69 HK dollars. China Merchants Bank lost1.18 percent to 37.8 HK dollars. CITIC Bank went down 2.81 percent to 6. 23 HK dollars. Bank of Communications weakened 2.72 percent to 11. 46 HK dollars. China Life, the country's largest life insurer, fell 1.87 percent to 49.85 HK dollars. Ping An lost 2.15 percent to 109.5 HK dollars. (7.7435 HK dollars = 1 U.S. dollars)
Soource:Xinhua
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