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Chinese shares close higher on Tuesday

Chinese equities continued to rise on Tuesday with the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index up 0.72 percent, or 22.98 points, to close at 3,211.76 points.
The Shenzhen Component Index gained 0.3 percent, or 40.00 points, to close at 13,503.99 points.
Combined turnover expanded to 194.38 billion yuan (28.46 billion U.S. dollars) from 182.13 billion yuan on the previous trading day.

HK stocks close flat, lacking clues ahead of New Year holiday

Hong Kong stocks closed down a modest 2.82 points, or 0.01 percent, at 21,496.62 on Wednesday, with low turnover suggesting a lack of directions as fund managers went on vacation ahead of the New Year.
The benchmark Hang Seng Index moved between 21,320.11 and 21, 620.74 during the day\’s trading, with turnover rising to 47.76 billion HK dollars (6.12 billion U.S. dollars) from Tuesday\’s rather modest 34.42 billion HK dollars (4.41 billion U.S. dollars).
The HSI futures closed down 15 points at 21,426 on the settlement day.
Analysts said they expected trading volume to remain thin on Thursday, with some tipping for the HSI to close at around 21,500 on the last trading day this year.
The finance sub-index moved down 0.31 percent to close at 33,617.69, making it the only loser among the four major categories. The properties gained 0.13 percent, the commerce and industry 0.31 percent, and the utilities 0.54 percent.
Market heavyweight HSBC gained 0.25 HK dollars, or 0.28 percent, to close at 88.45 HK dollars, and local unit Hang Seng Bank was up 0.35 percent at 113.8 HK dollars.
China Mobile, the leading mobile carrier on the Chinese mainland, was up 1.01 percent at 69.65 HK dollars. Smaller rival China Unicom was up 1.11 percent at 9.95 HK dollars.
The mainland banks were mostly lower, with China Construction Bank down 1.22 percent, ICBC down 0.94 percent and Bank of China down 0.49 percent.
Some recently listed shares were in focus, with Carpenter Tan rising 16.03 percent to 4.56 HK dollars and Perception Digital up 14.67 percent at 0.86 HK dollars. Bawang Group was down 11.88 percent at 5.49 HK dollars. (7.8 HK dollars = 1 U.S. dollar)

China Enterprises Index down 0.90%

The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index fell 114.16 points, or 0.90 percent, to close at 12,530.77 on Wednesday.
The H-shares Index, initiated in August 1994 and readjusted on Sept. 7, 2009, tracks the overall performance of 44 major Chinese mainland state-owned enterprises listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.
The Hang Seng China H-Financials Index also fell 109.00 points, or 0.63 percent, to close at 17,262.65.
The H-Financials Index, initiated on Nov. 27, 2006, readjusted on Sept. 10, 2007, tracks the performance of nine major banks and insurers of the Chinese mainland.
The Hang Seng Mainland Composite Index lost 0.22 percent at 3,999.63.
Introduced on Oct. 3, 2001 with the latest readjustment effective on March 9, 2009, the Hang Seng Mainland Composite Index gauges the performance of 132 Hong Kong-listed companies with principal places of business in Hong Kong and the Chinese mainland.
The Hang Seng China-Affiliated Corporations Index added 16.80 points, or 0.43 percent, to close at 3,957.43.
The index tracks the performance of 34 locally listed companies with a significant equity interest held by entities in the Chinese mainland.

China to launch securities index reflecting cross-Straits markets

The China Securities Index Co (CSI) is to launch the CSI Cross-Straits 500 Index on Jan 18 to reflect the performance of equity markets on the Chinese mainland, Hong Kong and Taiwan.
A total of 500 stocks are chosen as samples of the CSI Cross-Straits 500 Index, including the 300 stocks covered by the Hushen 300 Index, 100 stocks of CSI Hong Kong 100 Index and 100 stocks selected on the Taiwan Stock Exchange, CSI said in a statement on its website Sunday.
The sample stocks would be changed every six months, it said.
Latest statistics showed that the 500 stocks under the CSI Cross-Straits 500 Index, with a combined market value of 32 trillion yuan ($4.7 trillion), accounted for about 75 percent of total market value on the bourses on the Chinese mainland, Hong Kong and Taiwan, it said.
The index is set at 1,000 on the base date of Dec 31 of 2004.
As of the end of 2009, the index climbed 46.2 percent from the base date to 1,462 points.

Chinese shares gain 80% in 2009

Chinese equities closed slightly higher on Thursday, and ended the 2009 trading at the Shanghai market with an annual gain of 80 percent.
The smaller Shenzhen market rose 111 percent in 2009.
The figures indicate that China\’s stock market is among the remarkable performance in the world\’s major emerging economies, insiders said.
Government\’s timely stimulus package and record bank lending helped drive up the gains which was in contrast with an annual slump of 65 percent in 2008, analysts said.
The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index went up 0.45 percent, or 14.54 points, to close at 3,277.14 points Thursday.
The Shenzhen Component Index gained 0.41 percent, or 55.5 points, to close at 13,699.97 points.
Combined turnover shrank to 220.86 billion yuan (32.48 billion U.S. dollars), from 254.09 billion yuan on the previous trading day.
Paper making companies and telecom stocks led the rise. The index for the paper making industry rose 1.79 percent and that for the telecom equipment sector was up 1.28 percent.
Financial stocks continued to advance on rumours of the launch of stock-index futures. Citic Securities, the nation\’s largest securities broker, added 0.89 percent to 31.77 yuan. Hongyuan Securities ended at 23.80 yuan, up 0.93 percent.
Statistics showed that more than 1,100 stocks, or 64 percent of the A-share market, doubled in market value in 2009.
An online survey showed on the Chinese website portal Sina.com said more than half of the polled expected the Shanghai index to peak at least 4,000 points in 2010.

Chinese shares open higher on new year\’s 1st trading day

Chinese shares opened higher on the first trading day of the new year Monday with the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index up 0.38 percent to open at 3,289.75 points.
The Shenzhen Component Index also opened 0.48 percent higher at 13,766.10 points.

Hong Kong stocks open 0.06% lower

Hong Kong stocks fell 12.46 points, or 0.06 percent to open at 21,860.04 on Monday.

Chinese shares close lower on Monday

Chinese equities closed lower on Monday as the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index went down 1.02 percent, or 33.38 points, to close at 3,243.76 points.
The Shenzhen Component Index lost 1.21 percent, or 166.43 points, to close at 13,533.54 points.
Combined turnover shrunk to 147.97 billion yuan (21.7 billion U.S. dollars), from 220.86 billion yuan on the previous trading day.

ABC plans 150b yuan public float

 

Lender likely to sell shares on Shanghai, Hong Kong bourses
Agricultural Bank of China (ABC), the only bank among the Big Four State-run lenders yet to float shares, is planning to raise up to 150 billion yuan ($21.97 billion) through a dual listing in Shanghai and Hong Kong as early as April this year, people with knowledge of the matter told China Daily.
The nation’s third largest lender by assets plans to issue some 50 billion shares in the Shanghai and Hong Kong bourses, with an indicative price of about 3 yuan for the Shanghai A share, said the source, who did not want to be identified due to the sensitive nature of the matter.
The hefty size of the much-awaited IPO of ABC is comparable to the record-setting $21.9 billion share float of Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) in 2006 and surpasses the 120 billion yuan and 100 billion yuan raised by China Construction Bank (CCB) and Bank of China (BOC) between 2005 and 2007.
“The specific amount of shares to be floated in the Shanghai and Hong Kong bourses is yet to be decided,” the source said, but indicated that the Shanghai float would be bigger than Hong Kong.
ABC has been under the market glare for some time now as its restructuring and eventual listing will complete the decade-long reform of the Chinese banking industry, which has cost the government billions of dollars to wipe out the massive bad debts on the balance sheets.
Sources indicated that the nation’s pension fund might invest some 20 billion yuan in the bank. However, apart from the fund, ABC has failed to forge strategic partnerships with other financial institutions from both within and outside the country, the source said.
“The social security fund is the only strategic investor that the bank will bring in before its IPO,” the source said, adding that the two entities aimed to set up a long-term partnership and would look for ways to cooperate on future business developments.
This is a far cry from the other three listed major State-run lenders – ICBC, CCB and BOC – all of which have brought in a number of foreign financial entities as strategic investors, including Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, UBS, and Royal Bank of Scotland, before their IPOs for cooperation as well as expertise in corporate governance and risk control.
ABC specializes in serving the nation’s 800 million farmers and is considered the weakest lender among the Big Four banks. Its plan to introduce foreign strategic investors ran into rough weather after the global financial crisis saw most Western financial institutions putting off their plans and in some cases selling or reducing their stakes in Chinese lenders.
ABC received a $19 billion capital infusion in October last year from Central Huijin, the domestic investment arm of China’s sovereign wealth fund, making it 50 percent owned by the latter. The Ministry of Finance owns the other half.

Hong Kong stocks end 0.23% down

Hong Kong stocks fell 49.22 points, or 0.23 percent, to end at 21,823.28 on Monday, the first trading day of 2010.

A woman passes by a board displaying the Hang Seng Index of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in Hong Kong, south China, Jan. 4, 2010. Hong Kong stocks fell 49.22 points, or 0.23 percent, to end at 21,823.28 points on Monday. (Xinhua/Song Zhenping)
The benchmark index opened 0.06 percent lower at 21,860.04 after the public holiday on Friday. The stocks traded between 22, 024.83 and 21,689.22 before closing.
Turnover rose to 48.51 billion HK dollars (6.26 billion U.S. dollars) from Thursday’s 30.05 billion HK dollars (about 3.88 billion U.S. dollars).
Chinese financial companies led the decline of Hong Kong stocks, tracking the fall of Shanghai index over the timing of Beijing’s withdrawal of stimulus measures.
Traders expected that Hong Kong stocks to trade between 21,000 to 22,000 in the new year due to the investors adjustments’ on their portfolios.
China Enterprises Index went down 43.58 points, or 0.34 percent, to close at 12,750.55 points.
The four major stock categories ended mixed. The finance sub- index and commerce and industry sub-index dropped 0.5 percent and 0.03 percent respectively. The utilities moved up 0.56 percent, the properties rose 0.16 percent.
Blue-chips closed lower. Banking giant HSBC Holdings slightly fell 0.17 percent at 89.25 HK dollars. Heavyweight China Mobile, by far the largest mobile carrier in China’s mainland, almost fell0.69 percent to 72.35 HK dollars. HKEx, the sole exchange operator in Hong Kong, lost 0.72 percent to 138.4 HK dollars.
Local properties ended mixed. Cheung Kong, the flagship of HongKong’s richest man Li Ka-shing, fell 0.3 percent to 100 HK dollars. Henderson Land finished 0.34 percent higher at 58.6 HK dollars. SHK Properties moved down 1.17 percent to 116.1 HK dollars.
Mainland-based commercial lenders dived. CCB fell 1.2 percent to 6.59 HK dollars. ICBC fell 1 percent to 6.37 HK dollars.
Chinese insurance companies also ended down. China Life fell 0.7 percent to 38.1 HK dollars. Ping An moved down 0.7 percent to 67. 5 HK dollars.
As for energy shares, PetroChina fell 0.32 percent to 9.29 HK dollars, off-shore oil producer CNOOC rose 0.33 percent to 12.24 HK dollars, Sinopec Corp moved down 2.6 percent to 6.73 HK dollars. (7.8 HK dollars = 1 U.S. dollar)