Hong Kong shares rebound by 0.64%

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Hong Kong shares rebound by 0.64%

HONG KONG, April 26 (Xinhua) -- Hong Kong shares rebounded on Thursday with the benchmark Hang Seng Index rose 130.51 points, or0.64 percent, to 20667.29 after trading between 20651.29 and 20778.44 during the session.

Gains on Wall Street overnight and strong first-quarter results from Industrial and Commercial Bank of China helped push Hong Kong's benchmark index higher. But traders said they don't see substantial gains in the Hang Seng Index in the near term, as investors are still concerned about possible economic-tightening measures in China during next week's holiday.

Turnover reached 51.80 billion Hong Kong dollars (6.63 billion U.S. dollars), up from 44.39 billion Hong Kong dollars (5.69 billion U.S. dollars) Wednesday.

The local bourse tracked gains on the Dow Jones Industrials Average, which hit a new high overnight as it surpassed the 13,000level, ending up 1.1 percent at 13,089.

China's equity markets will be closed between May 1 and May 7 for the traditional week-long Labor Day holiday. Beijing has used such breaks in the past to announce policy changes to minimize the market impact. Many expect the Chinese government to take some economic-tightening steps soon following the recent release of strong first-quarter economic data.

Celestial Securities said in a note Friday the Hong Kong market will likely see "volatile trade" ahead of the expiry of April HangSeng Index futures. The brokerage said it expects the benchmark index to trade between 20,400 and 20,800 in the short term.

Leading the day's gains were Chinese state banks and other financial firms, following gains on mainland China stock markets and the strong first-quarter result of ICBC, the nation's biggest bank by assets.

ICBC, which reported a better-than-expected first-quarter net profit of 18.71 billion yuan (about 2.42 billion U.S. dollars), rose 1.2 percent to 4.36 Hong Kong dollars.

Peers China Construction Bank gained 1.0 percent to 4.92 Hong Kong dollars, China Merchants Bank ended up 2.0 percent at 19.56 Hong Kong dollars and Bank of China rose 0.8 percent to 3.95 Hong Kong dollars.

Insurance company China Life rose 0.4 percent to 25.35 Hong Kong dollars.

Listing debutante China Molybdenum, the country's largest molybdenum miner, ended up 59 percent at 10.82 Hong Kong dollars from its initial public offering price of 6.80 Hong Kong dollars. Dealers said interest in the firm was driven by its attractive valuation and demand from large institutional investors who failed to secure the shares they wanted during the IPO.

Separately, fixed-line telecom provider PCCW rose 1.4 percent to 4.94 Hong Kong dollars after the Standard newspaper reported its chairman, Richard Li, is making a fresh bid to sell a stake in the company or exit it altogether after earlier unsuccessful attempts. PCCW said it doesn't comment on rumors or speculation.

The finance sub-index surged 200.29 points or 0.61 percent to 32,798.91.

The properties sub-index soared 236.72 points or 0.97 percent at 24,716.51.

The commerce and industry sub-index went up 63.83 points or 0.58 percent to 11,116.61.

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