Hong Kong stocks ended flat on Thursday in thin trade but China plays outperformed the broader market, led by petrochemical shares after heavyweight Sinopec Corp made a rosy profit forecast.
The blue chip benchmark Hang Seng Index ended up 0.06 percent, or 6.58 points, at 11,939.41, snapping a three-day losing streak. A direction-less market had kept the index in check, shuttling in a narrow 73-point range.
The H-share index of Hong Kong-listed Chinese registered firms outperformed the wider market, rising 0.29 percent to 4,182.72
Turnover for the main-board totalled HK $9.6 billion (US $1.23 billion), compared with HK $12.23 billion on Wednesday.
Sinopec, Asia's largest refiner, ended up 1.77 percent at HK $2.875 after the firm said on Thursday that its net profit for the first half of 2004 is likely to rise more than 50 percent.
Another oil giant, PetroChina Ltd, ended up 0.68 percent at HK $3.675, after releasing first-half operational data which showed its first-half oil prices rose nearly six percent.
Four of Sinopec's units including Sinopec Beijing Yanhua Petrochemical Co and Sinopec Shanghai Petrochemical Co Ltd all ended in the positive territory, buoyed by their parent firm's rosy profit forecast.
Beijing Yanhua rose 3.96 percent to HK $2.625 while Shanghai Petrochemical ended up 2.88 percent at HK $2.675. The pair were the top two H-share winners.
Shares of Jilin Chemical, which said on Wednesday that it expects its first-half profit of 2004 to surge 100 percent to 150 percent, jumped 6.78 percent to HK $1.26.
Of three new offerings on Thursday, only television set component maker Mitsumaru East Kit (Holdings) Ltd enjoyed a firm debut, closing at HK $1.08 against its IPO price of HK $1.068 each.
Shares in garment maker Luen Thai Holdings Ltd sank 6.72 percent below their IPO price of HK $2.975 to HK $2.775. In early action Luen Thai hit an intraday high of HK $3.125.
Shares of Chinese property agency Hopefluent Group Holdings Ltd ended at HK $1.36 versus their offer price of HK $1.50. Chinese drug maker Guangzhou Pharmaceutical Co Ltd tumbled 12.66 percent to HK $1.38 after the firm warned its first half net profit would fall by more than 50 percent.
Hong Kong-listed mainland insurers such as Ping An Insurance extended recent losses.
China's insurers, which are allowed to invest in stocks only through mutual funds, are believed to have suffered a combined 5.0 billion yuan (US $604 million) book loss in the first half of this year as value of the funds had dropped around 10 percent in the first half due to weak stock markets, a state media reported on Thursday.
Ping An slipped 2.54 percent to HK $9.60, while the country's largest life underwriter, China Life Insurance Co Ltd, lost 1.16 percent to HK $4.25.
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