Banks and petrochemical firms help market go up
1/12/2005 11:53
Dai Qian/Shanghai Daily news
Shanghai shares bounced
back a little yesterday, led by investors' optimism in banks and petrochemical
companies. The Shanghai Composite Index, which groups both yuan-dominated A
shares and hard-currency B shares, inched up 0.21 percent to finish at 1,099.26.
The A share index rose 0.2 percent to 1,155.49 while B share index closed down
0.03 percent at 60.93. "The appreciation of the RMB (renminbi) and news that
more banks will participate in the stock reform (scheme) bolster investors'
confidence in the sector," said Wang Xiaomin, an analyst at Xiangcai Securities
Co. China Mingsheng Banking Corp Ltd rose the highest among competitors as it
has just finished its stock restructuring. The stock surged 3.21 percent to 3.86
yuan (47.7 US cents). Shanghai Pudong Development Bank climbed 1.85 percent
to 8.81 yuan. Spurred by its plan to issue warrants this week, China Merchants
Bank rose 1.9 percent to 6.42 yuan. Oil and chemical companies were also in
demand as huge buying was seen in Shanghai Petrochemical Co and Qilu
Petrochemical Corporation. "After Sinopec Corp completed its acquisition
recently, the market is betting China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation will
buy stakes in Qilu Petrochemical Corporation, Shanghai Petrochemical Co and
Yangtze Petrochemical Group, and that will boost the prices of the three oil and
chemical companies in the short term," Wang said. Qilu Petrochemical Corp
rose 2.27 percent to 7.21 yuan while Shanghai Petrochemical Co added 1.12
percent to finish at 3.6 yuan. Sinopec, the top Asian refiner, announced two
weeks ago it would pay 7.67 billion Hong Kong dollars (US$990 million) via its
subsidiary, Ningbo Yonglian, to privatize Sinopec Zhenhai Refining &
Chemical Co, one of its units. China United Telecommunications Corp rose
1.54 percent to 2.63 yuan. China Southern Airlines Co climbed 1.12 percent to
finish at 2.72 yuan.
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