Hong Kong's benchmark share index ended 0.57 percent higher on Thursday after local banks left lending rates unchanged despite a hike in the US, boosting property plays.
"The market was a bit fickle today but investors have become more supportive of banking and property counters after the US rate hike," said Y.K. Chan of Phillip Securities.
The blue chip Hang Seng Index ended 70.30 points higher at 12,413.43, recouping losses in early morning session. Volume was light with HK$11.46 billion (US $1.47 billion) worth of shares changing hands, slightly higher than Thursday's total.
Lenovo Group, the worst-performing blue chip stock so far this year with a near 40 percent drop through Wednesday, was the index's biggest gainer for the day. It rose 11.11 percent to HK$2.25 after it posted a forecast-beating quarterly profit the previous day.
Several brokerages, including Smith Barney and Nomura, have upgraded the stock, saying the worst might be over for the biggest PC maker in China, which has been facing stiff competition from foreign giants such as Dell Inc.
Gainers on banking counters outpaced losers with Dah Sing Financial posting a 3.96 percent gain to HK$52.50. But banking giant HSBC Holdings, which makes up about 30 percent of the index capitalisation, remained unchanged at HK$118.50.
Major lenders left lending rates unchanged on Thursday amid lacklustre loan growth in the territory. They also raised rates on deposits but it was only by a marginal amount and analysts predicted it would not squeeze margins.
Swire Pacific, one of Hong Kong's oldest trading firms, fell 1.94 percent to HK$50.50 although the firm said its first-half net profit more than doubled on recoveries in its property and airline businesses.
The company, seen as a proxy for the Hong Kong economy, said it made a profit of HK$2.952 billion (US $378.5 million) in the first six months of 2004, slightly beating an average forecast of HK$2.817 billion.
Also lower were a slew of companies announcing their first half earnings later in the day.
The city's dominant pay-TV operator i-Cable Communications said after the market closed that its first-half net profit rose 55 percent to HK$147 million, but its shares ended 1.85 percent lower at HK$2.65.
Power tool maker Techtronic Industries also ended lower with a 4.05 percent drop at HK$10.65 ahead of its first-half results announcement of a HK$299 million profit, up 42 percent from the year-earlier period.
China-focused media firm Tom Group, which has moved its listing to the mainboard recently, said after the trading session that its second-quarter earnings nearly tripled from a year earlier, driven by strong growth from its Internet business.
Still, the firm's shares were down 3.45 percent at HK$1.68.
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