HONGKONG STOCK MARKET, June 20-24, 1988
were sparked off by a deluge of Japanese money into real estate Down Under. A bus carrying Japanese tourists had been pelted with eggs earlier this month; and
(c) Mrs Margaret Thatcher, Britain's Prime Minister, was accused of interfering in Canada's domestic affairs, with regards to her speech in which she backed the proposed Canadian-American free trade deal.
Friday
Blue-chip stocks took the lion's share of the day's volume, and punters appeared to be hedging their bets as trading occurred within a relatively narrow range.
In New York, the overnight close of the Dow Jones In- dustrial Average registered a drop of 3.91 points to stand at 2,148.29, reflecting a mood of consolidation after the previous session, in which the Dow had picked up more than 40 points.
In Hongkong, several brokers had been predicting a period of readjustment at Exchange Square ever since the Hang Seng Index broke the 2,700-point mark.
With the lack of interesting speculation, investors were said to be favouring the hongs, apparently at the expense of the Utilities SAector.
The Wharf (Holdings) Ltd moved ahead by 10 cents, the largest improvement in its share price since the an- nouncement of its acquisition of the US Omni Hotels Group.
The Hang Seng Index fell to its low point of the day in mid-morning, before regaining some of the lost ground to close 4.68 points below its opening, at 2,707.56.
The Hongkong Index reflected the fluctuations and closed down 3.63 points at 1,791.77.
Overseas interest seemed to be lagging as turnover dropped $HK356.87 million to $HK1.23 billion.
Swire Pacific Ltd 'A' scrip topped the most active stocks list, as it accounted for 5.4 percent of total volume.
Hot on its heels was Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd, which finished a strong weekly performance in which its share price had picked up 50 cents as a result of what some brokers termed 'persistent institutional buying'.
Commercial and Industrial stocks led the sectorial gains as the Sub-Index improved 13.98 points to close at 2,478.65.
Mr Li Ka Shing's stable remained relatively firm, al- though considerable selling pressure had been reported by some observers.
At the close of play, Cheung Kong (Holdings) Ltd was unchanged from the previous week's close, and Hutchison Whampoa Ltd had fallen back 15 cents over the week.
Jardine Matheson Holdings Ltd and Jardine Strategic Holdings Ltd also felt some of the heat from sellers, as both stocks closed below their opening prices.
In the Financial Sector, The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation came fifth in the most active stocks list.
The Financial Sub-Index slipped back 2.76 points to stand at 1.642.38, as part of the general consolidation.
Both property and utility stocks were under pressure from the sellers, as the Sub-Indices fell 11.21 points to 4.104.72 and 37.11 points to 3,725.62, respectively.
There were marked declines in some utilities stocks as Hongkong Telecommunications Company Ltd and China Light and Power Company Ltd both closed lower on the day.
In Tokyo, Japanese investors continued to express fears over interest rate hikes as the US dollar continued to gain on the Japanese yen.
The Nikkei Stock Average managed a slight improve- ment of 17.46 points to close at 27,750.30, after 4 consecu- tive days of decline.
At New World Tower, the Hang Seng Index Futures Market saw the spot month of June fall 3 points to 2,721, the month of July up 6 points to 2,748, and the far month of August closed at 2,750, a gain of 5 points.
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