Hong Kong shares close lower led by HSBC; telecoms, tech stocks limit losses

HONG KONG (AFX-ASIA) - Share prices closed lower led by HSBC, following its decline in London overnight, amid concerns that the bank may initiate a share placement to finance new acquisitions, dealers said.	    They said downward pressure was mitigated by gains in several hi-tech and telecom stocks, in particular Pacific Century CyberWorks, which benefited from bargain hunting after the positive performance on NASDAQ last night.	    The Hang Seng Index was down 96.10 points at 13,718.14, off a high of 13,844.36 and a low of 13,646.22, on trade of 9.81 bln hkd.	    The Hang Seng May contract last traded at 13,654.	    The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index was down 13.90 points at 473.54, and the CAC Index finished down 7.71 points at 1,246.55.	    The Tracker Fund fell 0.10 to 13.70, and the GEM Index was up 0.60 points at 273.41, on trade of 294.97 mln hkd.	    Kitty Chan, associate director of Lippo Securities, said investor confidence was weakened by the falls in HSBC, on concerns that the bank is considering undertaking a share placement exercise.	    "There was widespread speculation that HSBC may be interested in buying Merill Lynch," she said.	    The financial sub-index was down 672.61 points at 20,571.66. 	    HSBC dropped 4.0 to 97.00, Bank of East Asia ended up 0.10 at 18.20, and Hang Seng Bank fell 0.25 to 90.50.	    Several hi-tech and telecom stocks bucked the market trend, supported by the strong performance on NASDAQ last night, with Pacific Century CyberWorks gaining 0.25 hkd to 3.00, Chan said. 	    "There was no news on PCCW ... it could be just bargain hunting," she said.	    Among the other hi-tech and telecom stocks, China Mobile gained 0.50 to 41.80, Sunday rose 0.015 to 0.495, Legend added 0.05 to 6.70, ASM Pacific grew 0.60 to 15.00, and Great Wall Technology rose 0.028 to 2.275.	    However, Hutchison was down 0.25 at 86.25, and China Unicom fell 0.30 to 11.80.	    Among properties, Cheung Kong was up 0.25 at 89.50, Henderson Land was 0.50 lower at 35.50, and Sun Hung Kai Properties gained 0.75 to 74.00.	    Profit taking, which was substantial in H-shares after their recent gains, gradually spilled over to red-chips in the afternoon, dealers said.	    Among H-shares, Sinopec Corp was down 0.025 at 1.34, China Eastern dropped 0.06 to 1.16, and Beida Jade Bird fell 0.05 to 2.25.	    Among red-chips, China Merchants ended down 0.10 at 5.80, China Resources shed 0.20 to 11.70, and China Overseas dropped 0.03 to 1.05.	    However, China Resources Logic gained 0.07 to 0.85, Stone Electronic was up 0.05 at 1.15, and Founder rose 0.025 to 2.15.	    On the GEM board, tom.com was up 0.10 at 2.225, hongkong.com rose 0.01 to 0.365, and Sunevision added 0.085 to 2.025. 

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