Hong Kong's top share index ended 0.03 percent lower on Monday as losses for property plays offset gains for select China plays on hopes for market reforms from Beijing to prop up its equity markets.
Analysts said investors should lock in gains as there were no new drivers in sight and an expected rise in US interest rates this week was likely to end the blue chip index's rally over the past month.
The benchmark index, which groups 33 leading stocks in Hong Kong, fell 3.60 points to 13,221.33 after hitting a fresh six-month high of 13,284.01 during intraday trade. Turnover was substantial at HK$18.02 billion but less than Friday's volume of HK$22.84 billion.
"I'm telling all my clients to sell. It is the time to cash in the gains after the recent run in the index. There's really not much upside under my ceiling of 13,350 points max," said Andrew To of Tai Fook Securities.
The index has gained nearly seven percent since August 20 on a run of positive news including signs of a soft-landing for China's economy, the third land auction in Hong Kong this year and market reforms in China that are expected to boost the country's domestic share market.
All major property stocks, except Sino Land, were down ahead of the Federal Reserve's decision on US interest rates on Tuesday. Sino Land was unchanged at HK$6.00.
Many analysts expect Hong Kong to follow the Fed's lead if it decides to raise rates this time around.
Meanwhile, the Hang Seng China Enterprise Index, or H-shares, raced ahead of blue chip stocks with a 2.48 percent gain to 4,683.32.
China plays were boosted by news that Beijing is considering a raft of measures to prop up its US $500 billion equity markets. These include attracting more foreign cash and allowing pension funds - a source of long term money - to invest in shares.
Shares in raw material firms such as Jiangxi Copper, Maanshan Iron and Angang Newsteel were up between 5.36 percent and 5.88 percent after sharp falls in April as China introduced austerity measures to check runaway economic growth.
The complete transition of political power from former President Jiang Zemin to Hu Jintao on Sunday also lent the market some support, analysts said.
Aluminium Corp of China Ltd (Chalco), the world's second largest alumina producer, clocked up a 10.73 percent to HK$4.90 after it said on Monday it had raised its alumina contract sales price by 4.8 percent to 3,930 yuan (US $474.6) per tonne.
China's top PC maker Lenovo Group topped the day's blue chip gainers with a stellar 8.65 percent rise at HK$2.825, playing catch-up after lagging the market by a big margin this year.
Television Broadcasts Ltd, the city's dominant free-to-air broadcaster, which was removed from the blue chip Hang Seng Index earlier this month, rose 3.32 percent to HK$34.20 after the firm said it had won long-sought rights to broadcast in neighbouring Guangdong province in China.
The win opens the door for the broadcaster to be able to share advertising revenue from the vast southern China market soon, which is expected to boost its profits substantially.
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