Hong Kong stocks ended little changed on Monday after shuttling in a tight range, with gains in banking shares such as HSBC partly offset by losses for property counters. The benchmark Hang Seng Index tiptoed 0.05 percent, or 7.57 points, higher to 14,794.03. Traders said the market was set for a period of consolidation after rising for nine sessions in a row.
Turnover totalled HK$20.5 billion (US$2.63 billion) compared with HK$31.8 billion on Friday, a day after Bejing revalued the yuan by 2.1 percent early Thursday evening.
"Investors took profits off property counters after the sector's recent rally. But banking shares helped offset some losses," said Andrew To, sales director at Tai Fook Securities.
However, market players expect selling pressure to be limited on expectations that companies will release healthy corporate reports when the earnings season kicks in next month.
Many market watchers expect HSBC Holdings Plc to deliver a strong set of first-half results next Monday. The stock, which accounts for roughly one-third of the Hang Seng index weighting, rose 0.24 percent to HK$127.
The banking giant led other lenders higher. Hang Seng Bank edged up 0.28 percent to HK$107.50, while Bank of China (Hong Kong) jumped 0.64 percent to HK$15.65.
The city's mid-tier lender Bank of East Asia climbed 0.42 percent to HK$23.75.
Property stocks slipped. Index heavyweight Cheung Kong Holdings, one of the city's leading developers, slipped 0.47 percent to HK$83.95 while its rival Sun Hung Kai Properties lost 0.62 percent to HK$80.45.
The property sub-index fell 0.63 percent, underperforming the broader market.
Some traders said they expected another yuan revaluation to occur before the end of the year. China plays, led by petrochemical shares, continued to attract buying interest.
The sector extended gains from Friday as Chinese refiners that rely heavily on oil imports will benefit from lower costs following Beijing's move to allow the yuan to appreciate.
China's largest oil refiner Zhenhai Refinery jumped 3.33 percent to HK$7.75 and China's top ethylene producer Sinopec Shanghai Petrochemical gained 0.93 percent to HK$2.70. Huaneng Power also drew buying, rising 2.65 percent to HK$5.80 after falling nearly 9 percent over the past year, as investors chased up the laggard.
Jiangxi Copper shares were suspended. China's largest copper producer was selling up to US$115.5 million worth of shares at a discount of between 5 percent and 9 percent to their last trading price of HK$4.10 in the morning session, according to a term sheet obtained by Reuters.
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