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HK stocks end higher, Hutchison leads way

HONG KONG: Hong Kong stocks closed higher on Friday with gains in Hutchison Whampoa Ltd and its associated companies offsetting a sell-off in newly-listed Internet plays and e-commerce venture firms.

The benchmark Hang Seng Index which shot up over two percent shortly after the open, failed to hold above 18,000 and ended on Friday up 1.1 percent or 194.83 points at 17,831.86.

In the broader market, 250 issues rose while 471 fell on moderate turnover of HK$18.56 billion, up from on Thursday's HK$17.78 billion. Hutchison, which has soared 30 percent in the last three months, continued Thursday's gains on news that it was teaming up with US-based Internet Capital Group Ltd and the local Li Ka-shing Foundation to buy Hong Kong-listed toy maker Harbour Ring International Holdings.

Harbour Ring's strong rally at the resumption of its trading helped lift Hutchison, as did a 1.85-percent rise in Vodafone Airtouch PLc in London trading, traders said. Hutchison has a 10.1 percent stake in Vodafone.

Hutchison jumped 7.3 percent or HK$10.00 to HK$146.50 after touching a record high of HK$147.00.

Harbour Ring, the latest in a series of "shell companies" to skyrocket once major Internet players have revealed investment plans, jumped sixfold in early trade.

Harbour Ring, which was the second most actively traded stock, ended on Friday at HK$7.85, a gain of 538 percent from its last traded price of HK$1.23 on March 1.

Hutchison's parent Cheung Kong (Holdings) Ltd, joined the Hutch ride, jumping HK$3.50 to HK$110.00. Another property company to gain on recently announced Internet strategies was China Resources Enterprise Ltd which soared 14.79 percent or HK$1.45 to HK$11.25. Newly-launched Internet GEM-listed companies and e-commerce venture firms were slammed in the afternoon despite the stellar Nasdaq performance.

"Golden Power and Acme Landis's losses influenced other venture capital companies," said Stuart Cook, director at Jardine Fleming Securities.

Golden Power fell 11.25 percent to HK$10.65 while Chueng Wah Development lost HK$0.95 to HK$8.80.

Acme Landis Holdings Ltd, which was bought out on February to become an Internet-related business, dropped 7.97 percent to HK$8.65.

On the Growth Enterprise Market, Web portal tom.com slumped HK$0.60 to HK$11.80, while Hongkong.com Corp, which jumped 269 percent in its debut on Thursday, lost 19.26 percent or HK$1.30 to HK$5.45.-Reuters