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HK stocks end lower

HONG KONG: Stocks reversed moderate gains to close mildly lower, shrugging off news CITIC Pacific had won the bid to redevelop the centrally located Tamar site.

The blue-chip Hang Seng Index fell 30.42 points to close at 9,386.48, after being up as much as 52 points. Turnover was HK$3.35 billion against Wednesday's adjusted HK$3.36 billion.

"CITIC's bid is a little too high and probably not representative of general property market sentiment," said Stanley Ng, an analyst at Primeast Securities. "Besides, the news is well anticipated and has largely been discounted already."

CITIC Pacific tumbled 50 cents to HK$20.95 after the government confirmed that it won the tender with a bid of HK$3.35 billion. It had been up 35 cents at one point.

Brokers noted that shares with mainland China connections were also quite active amid the lull among blue chips. Qingling Motors jumped 16 cents to HK$2.15 and Guangzhou Investment gained two cents to HK$1.50.

Index heavyweights HSBC and HK Telecom were up 50 cents to HK$105 and down five cents to HK$13.95, respectively.

August index futures dropped 85 to 9,385 on volume of 14,800 lots, initial figures showed.-Reuter