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HK shares rise 1.4 pct; best week in 4 months

Reuters - Saturday, August 30

* HSI records best weekly gain in more than four months

* Strong rebound across sectors on U.S. growth data

* China Mobile looses $18 billion in market cap in two days

By Parvathy Ullatil

HONG KONG, Aug 29 - Hong Kong shares rose 1.4 percent on Friday to record their best weekly gain in over four months after data showing the U.S. economy grew at a surprisingly strong clip eased fears of a global economic slowdown.

CLP Holdings <0002.HK> fell 3.6 percent after Hong Kong signed a memorandum of understanding with China on natural gas supply, threatening the need for an LNG terminal project that the city's largest power utility was bidding to build.

Credit Suisse downgraded CLP to neutral from outperform and cut its target price on the stock to HK$73 from HK$81, saying the memorandum implied a lower chance of CLP winning the LNG terminal project.

Despite this week's rally, analysts said uncertainty over health of the world's largest economy would continue to haunt the local market.

"Concerns over U.S financial markets and fears over a global economic slowdown are far from over. How can they be? There is so much happening, so what is true today does not hold good tomorrow," said Mona Chung, fund manager with Daiwa Asset Management.

The benchmark Hang Seng Index <.HSI> closed up 289.60 points at 21,261.89.

The blue chip index gained 4.3 percent this week, owing in part to a 3.4 percent jump on Monday, its biggest in 5 months. The blue-chip index shed 6.5 percent in August.

Mainboard turnover fell to HK$63.4 billion from HK$66.7 billion on Thursday.

The main index is still seen heading towards a near two-year low of 18,000 points and not the 24,000 breakthrough level local investors have been seeking, analysts said.

The index came off earlier highs as China Mobile <0941.HK> suffered further losses after being battered by a slew of broker downgrades on Thursday.

The stock slipped 0.9 percent, adding to its 6.3 percent fall in the previous session as investors focused on looming uncertainties in the Chinese telecom sector. China Mobile has seen close to $18 billion in market capitalisation wiped out in the past two trading sessions.

The China Enterprises Index <.HSCE> of top locally listed mainland Chinese firms climbed 1.5 percent.

Bank of China <3988.HK>, the nation's flagship foreign exchange lender, jumped 2.1 percent after posting a forecast-beating 15 percent increase in its first half net profit.

UBS upgraded the stock to buy from neutral, taking into consideration the continued decline in its share price.

BOC's bigger rival China Construction Bank <0939.HK> gained 1.8 percent while China's biggest lender ICBC <1398.HK> climbed 1.3 percent.

But shares in Bank of China Hong Kong <2388.HK> fell 3.3 percent after Morgan Stanley downgraded the stock to underweight from equal-weight, citing huge uncertainties in its investment book, weak core earnings and low capital efficiency.

Morgan Stanley said it cut its target price on the Chinese bank to HK$15.50 from HK$17 after it posted a 5 percent year-on-year drop in earnings due mainly to large losses on its investment book, especially on U.S. prime and subprime mortgages.

Top insurer China Life <2628.HK> was up 1.4 percent, tracking a 2 percent jump on the Shanghai bourse.

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