Hong Kong stocks closed 0.84 percent higher at 12,702.07 after a roller coaster session on Wednesday, with the benchmark Hang Seng Index moving between 13,307.42 and 12,333.94 during trading.
Turnover totaled a moderate 59.23 billion HK dollars (7.59 billion U.S. dollars), down from Tuesday's 66.05 billion HK dollars (8.53 billion U.S. dollars) as investors continued to shy away from the extremely volatile stock market.
The blue-chip index opened the morning trading up 1.68 percent at 12,807.35, following a dramatic 14.35 percent rebound in the previous session. It moved to above 13,000 in the morning and once dipped into negative ground in the afternoon.
The finance sub-index lost 2.01 percent following the sector's dramatic surges in the previous session, making it the only loser among the four major categories.
The commerce and industry sub-index advanced 3.7 percent, followed by a 2.94 percent gain for the utilities category and 1.79 percent for the properties genre.
The China Enterprises Index, or the H-shares index, gained 1.82percent on Wednesday, with BNP Paribas raising sector rating from Underweight to Overweight as "maximum bearishness is priced in" on P/E ratio of 6.4 and P/B just above 1.
Analysts said they expected volatility ahead for the Hang Seng Index, with investors continuing to shy away from the market due to downside risks.
Eric Chong, an analyst at Chief Securities, has said recently further falls in the Hang Seng Index to 9,200 will be required, in the event of a 30 percent profit decline, for the expected P/E ratio to drop to 8, which is attractive for long-term investors.
The P/E ratio for the blue-chip index has never been below 6, he added.
Fourteen of the 42 blue chips turned out losers on Wednesday, with market heavyweight HSBC Holdings lost 3.85 HK dollars, or 4.28 percent, to close at 86.15 HK dollars, following its surge of close to 20 percent on Tuesday.
HSBC's local unit Hang Seng Bank dropped 1.61 percent at 88.85 HK dollars.
ICBC, the largest commercial lender on the Chinese mainland, closed down 0.03 HK dollars, or 0.92 percent, at 3.23 HK dollars, following a surge in previous session.
Bank of China declined 3.35 percent to 2.02 HK dollars while its local unit BOC Hong Kong gained 0.23 HK dollars, or 2.56 percent, to close at 9.22 HK dollars.
China Mobile, one of the mobile carrier giants on the mainland, lost 0.35 HK dollars, or 0.58 percent, to close at 60.15 HK dollars, while competitor China Unicom surged 0.52 HK dollars, or 5.39 percent, to finish at 10.16 HK dollars.
The energy stocks all surged, with PetroChina up 5.81 percent, refiner Sinopec up 5 percent, and offshore oil producer CNOOC up 0.49 HK dollars or 10.84 percent.
China Shenhua, the mainland state-owned coal conglomerate, surged 1.16 HK dollars, or 11.6 percent, to close at 11.16 HK dollars thanks to their resilience.
Cheung Kong, the real property conglomerate headed by "superman" Li Ka-shing, went up 1 HK dollar, or 1.43 percent, at 71 HK dollars, while Hong Kong's largest residential developer Sun Hung Kai Properties remained unchanged at 61.5 HK dollars.
Shipping stock China COSCO lost 3.97 percent to close at 2.9 HK dollars, while the Hong Kong-listed COSCO Pacific added 0.55 HK dollars, or 13.58 percent, to close at 4.6 HK dollars. (7.8 HK dollars = 1 U.S. dollar)
Source:Xinhua
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