Hong Kong stocks rise on easing oil prices and overnight strength on Wall Street

Wed, Jul 23 04:43 PM

HONG KONG (AP) _ Hong Kong's stock market gained Wednesday on easing oil prices and an overnight rally on Wall Street. Refiners and airlines led the way.

The blue-chip Hang Seng Index rose 607.07 points, or nearly 2.7 percent, 23,134.55. It was the benchmark's highest close in over a month.

The gain came despite disappointing results from Wachovia Corp. and other U.S. financials, a reminder of looming fears about the sector.

Asian traders, though, focused instead on declining oil prices, with crude futures having lost more than US$20 a barrel since July 11. Although Hong Kong stocks could move higher in coming days, analysts weren't ready to declare an end to the bearish trend.

"The overall U.S. economy is still weak, but the funds will likely keep flowing to the region's market in the short term," said Castor Pang, an analyst at Sun Hung Kai Financial. "If there's any bad news, especially about earnings in the U.S., that could hurt the rebound.

" The sinking oil prices translated into hefty gains for refiners and airlines. China Petroleum & Chemical Corp.

also known as Sinopec, Asia's biggest refiner by volume shot up 5.3 percent to HK$8.15. PetroChina rose 3.7 percent.

Airliner China Southern surged 9.9 percent to HK$3.43, while Cathay Pacific gained 6.3 percent to HK$15.64. Banks also got a boost, with HSBC and Chinese institutions such as ICBC, the country's largest lender, adding around 3 percent or more.

In other stocks, clothing maker Esprit rose 5.6 percent. Upstream oil producer CNOOC declined 1 percent to HK$11.92 on the softer crude prices.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 1.2 percent Tuesday in New York, energized by the drop-off in oil prices. _____ On the Net: Stock Exchange of Hong Kong: http://www.

hkex.com.

hk.

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