HK stocks end slightly higher

Hong Kong shares ended higher on Thursday, with the weighted index rising 19.67 points, or 0.09 percent, at 20,907.95. The benchmark Hang Seng Index traded between 20,835.06 and 20,947.30. Turnover totaled 48.21 billion HK dollars (about 6.21 billion U.S. dollars). The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index rose 20.31 points, or 0.21 percent, to close at 9,848.53. Four sub-indices ended mixed. The Utilities sub-index lost 0.53 percent. The Commerce & Industry fell 0.39 percent and the Properties shed 0.3 percent, while the Finance sub-index rose 0.66 percent. Banking giant HSBC, which accounts for the largest weighting of the Hang Seng Index, added 1.79 percent to close at 73.85 HK dollars, and its local unit Hang Seng Bank went down 0.75 percent at 118.6 HK dollars. Bank of East Asia, another Hong Kong's major bank, fell 1.02 percent to 29.2 HK dollars. As for Mainland-based financial stocks, China Construction Bank, the country's second largest bank which accounts for the third largest weighting of the Hang Seng Index, gained 0.18 percent to 5.44 HK dollars. ICBC, the world's largest bank by market value, closed at 4.59 HK dollars without change. Bank of Communications, China's fifth biggest lender measured by assets, moved up 1.72 percent to 5.33 HK dollars. Bank of China closed at 2.95 HK dollars without change. Local developers ended mixed. Hang Lung Properties lost 1.66 percent to 26.65 HK dollars. Henderson Land, one of the major developers in Hong Kong, went up 0.9 percent to 56.35 HK dollars. Cheung Kong Holding, a powerful HK-based developer controlled by billionaire Li Ka-shing, closed at 115.9 HK dollars without change. As for energy stocks, China's top refiner Sinopec lost 0.42 percent to 7.2 HK dollars. PetroChina, the country's largest oil and gas producer, went down 0.6 percent to 10 HK dollars. HK-based Esprit, a clothing retailer which heavily relies on wholesale operations in Europe, was the best-performing blue chip in the day, with its shares rising 6.2 percent to 13.02 HK dollars. Sands China Ltd was the worst-performing blue chip in the day, with its shares falling 3.52 percent to 27.4 HK dollars.