Mainland counters weigh in with help from oil price rise and advice to shift investment from Southeast Asia
Hong Kong shares rallied yesterday afternoon on bargain hunting on expectation of blue-chip property counters continuing to release favourable earnings results over the next few days, while H shares were helped by rising oil prices.
US investment bank Merrill Lynch also helped boost sentiment in mainland stocks with an advice to clients to switch their portfolio exposure from Southeast Asia to China in anticipation of positive earnings surprises.
But, while brokers said the market had stabilised at current levels without much fear of a backward slide in the near term, they warned there was little to indicate an imminent rise in share prices and traders remained cautious.
The Hang Seng Index had a mixed start to the trading day, opening down 8.81 points at 13,763.14 and at one point falling to 13,736.18 before lunch.
The index gained strength in the afternoon session and closed at 13,881.71, up 109.76 points.
