Post by unlawflcombatnt on Nov 19, 2007 6:11:41 GMT -6
from Bloomberg:
China's "Through Train" delayed, originally announced on August 20
Hong Kong Stocks Decline, Led by HSBC: World's Biggest Mover
By Hanny Wan
11/16/07
"Hong Kong's stocks fell, led by HSBC Holdings Plc, on renewed concern the U.S. economy, the world's largest, will slow after Wells Fargo & Co. said the housing market is the worst since the Great Depression.
China Construction Bank Corp. led mainland Chinese lenders lower on concern China will raise interest rates for a sixth time this year after growth in factory and property spending accelerated.
``The major concerns in the market are the U.S. and China's tightening,'' said Paul Chan, who helps manage about $2.5 billion at Invesco Asia Ltd. in Hong Kong. ``The development in the U.S. is worrying people because nobody knows where the bottom is.''
The Hang Seng Index slid 1,136.78, or 4 percent, to 27,614.43, the biggest move among markets included in global benchmarks. The measure has fallen 4.1 percent this week, its second weekly decline, on concern the so-called ``through train'' under which mainland individuals can invest directly in Hong Kong stocks won't be implemented until next year.
Concern that losses from U.S. home-loans will increase, prompting investors to shun risky assets such as equities, and speculation that China may raise interest rates further exacerbated the decline.
The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index, which tracks 43 so- called H shares of Chinese companies listed in Hong Kong, fell 4.3 percent to 16,737.73....
The H-share index has dropped 17 percent this month, wiping out almost a third of its gain since the start of trading on Aug. 20, when China announced the ``through train.''
Hong Kong stocks have ``accumulated quite a lot of gains in the past three months so it's not a surprise to see some sort of a correction,'' Invesco's Chan said.
HSBC, Europe's biggest bank, slipped HK$2.60, or 1.9 percent, to HK$136.20, its lowest close since Aug. 17. The company generated 31 percent of its revenue last year from North America.
Li & Fung Ltd., which sells goods to Wal-Mart Stores Inc., dropped HK$1.95, or -6.2%....
Techtronic Industries Co., which supplies power tools to Home Depot Inc., slid...-3%....
Wells Fargo, the second-largest U.S. mortgage lender, said yesterday the *housing market was the worst since the Great Depression, and its home-equity losses are likely to increase in the fourth quarter, remaining ``elevated'' through 2008....
Fixed-asset investment in China's urban areas rose 26.9 percent to 8.9 trillion yuan ($1.2 trillion) in the first 10 months of 2007 from a year earlier, the statistics bureau said today. That beat the 26.2 percent median estimate in a Bloomberg News survey of economists.
The People's Bank of China has raised interest rates five times this year to curb spending in the world's fastest growing major economy. The key one-year lending rate of 7.29 percent is the highest since 1998. The central bank this month boosted the proportion of deposits that lenders must set aside as reserves to 13.5%, the most since records began in 1987.
Rising interest rates make loans more expensive, curbing banks' profits.
All but two stocks on the 40-member Hang Seng Index declined. November futures lost 4.8 percent to 27,255...."
China's "Through Train" delayed, originally announced on August 20
Hong Kong Stocks Decline, Led by HSBC: World's Biggest Mover
By Hanny Wan
11/16/07
"Hong Kong's stocks fell, led by HSBC Holdings Plc, on renewed concern the U.S. economy, the world's largest, will slow after Wells Fargo & Co. said the housing market is the worst since the Great Depression.
China Construction Bank Corp. led mainland Chinese lenders lower on concern China will raise interest rates for a sixth time this year after growth in factory and property spending accelerated.
``The major concerns in the market are the U.S. and China's tightening,'' said Paul Chan, who helps manage about $2.5 billion at Invesco Asia Ltd. in Hong Kong. ``The development in the U.S. is worrying people because nobody knows where the bottom is.''
The Hang Seng Index slid 1,136.78, or 4 percent, to 27,614.43, the biggest move among markets included in global benchmarks. The measure has fallen 4.1 percent this week, its second weekly decline, on concern the so-called ``through train'' under which mainland individuals can invest directly in Hong Kong stocks won't be implemented until next year.
Concern that losses from U.S. home-loans will increase, prompting investors to shun risky assets such as equities, and speculation that China may raise interest rates further exacerbated the decline.
The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index, which tracks 43 so- called H shares of Chinese companies listed in Hong Kong, fell 4.3 percent to 16,737.73....
The H-share index has dropped 17 percent this month, wiping out almost a third of its gain since the start of trading on Aug. 20, when China announced the ``through train.''
Hong Kong stocks have ``accumulated quite a lot of gains in the past three months so it's not a surprise to see some sort of a correction,'' Invesco's Chan said.
HSBC, Europe's biggest bank, slipped HK$2.60, or 1.9 percent, to HK$136.20, its lowest close since Aug. 17. The company generated 31 percent of its revenue last year from North America.
Li & Fung Ltd., which sells goods to Wal-Mart Stores Inc., dropped HK$1.95, or -6.2%....
Techtronic Industries Co., which supplies power tools to Home Depot Inc., slid...-3%....
Wells Fargo, the second-largest U.S. mortgage lender, said yesterday the *housing market was the worst since the Great Depression, and its home-equity losses are likely to increase in the fourth quarter, remaining ``elevated'' through 2008....
Fixed-asset investment in China's urban areas rose 26.9 percent to 8.9 trillion yuan ($1.2 trillion) in the first 10 months of 2007 from a year earlier, the statistics bureau said today. That beat the 26.2 percent median estimate in a Bloomberg News survey of economists.
The People's Bank of China has raised interest rates five times this year to curb spending in the world's fastest growing major economy. The key one-year lending rate of 7.29 percent is the highest since 1998. The central bank this month boosted the proportion of deposits that lenders must set aside as reserves to 13.5%, the most since records began in 1987.
Rising interest rates make loans more expensive, curbing banks' profits.
All but two stocks on the 40-member Hang Seng Index declined. November futures lost 4.8 percent to 27,255...."