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Market wipes loss as airlines glide

(China Daily)
Updated: 2009-10-29 08:19

China's stocks rose, erasing earlier losses, as airlines, brokerages and coal producers advanced on higher profits.

China Southern Airlines Co and Air China Ltd gained more than 1 percent after swinging to profit in the third quarter. Hong Yuan Securities Co climbed 4.4 percent after reporting a fivefold surge in net income. China Shenhua Energy Co, the nation's biggest coal producer, advanced 1 percent after profit in the first nine months increased.

The Shanghai Composite Index was up 9.87 points, or 0.33 percent, to 3,031.33 at close, reversing a 1.6-percent loss. The gauge slumped 2.8 percent on Tuesday, the most in five weeks, amid concern the government will restrain stimulus efforts. The CSI 300 Index added 0.44 percent to 3,329.33.

"Earnings will likely improve further into the fourth quarter given the economic growth," said Mark Tan, Singapore-based portfolio manager at UOB Asset Management Ltd, which oversees about $10 billion.

Related readings:  China shares up on optimistic prospect in economic growth  Investment guru predicts full recovery by 2014  China Film Group Corp may go public before next July

The Shanghai index has rallied 66 percent this year as the nation's economy rebounded from the deepest slump in almost a decade. The recovery was driven by a 4-trillion-yuan spending program on infrastructure and public housing that ends next year, and record lending that banks are reining in.

Credit Suisse Group AG and UBS AG are among those predicting that the authorities will raise banks' cash reserve requirements as soon as December.

China Southern, Asia's biggest carrier by passenger numbers, advanced 1.7 percent to 5.37 yuan, after registering a profit of 284 million yuan in the third quarter, compared with a loss of 830 million yuan a year earlier.

Air China gained 1.6 percent to 7.88 yuan, after posting an 885-million-yuan profit in the third quarter from a loss of 1.97 billion yuan a year earlier. China Eastern Airlines Corp climbed 0.7 percent to 5.65 yuan. The nation's No 3 carrier had 23.2 million yuan in profit for the three months ended September, compared with a net loss of 2.33 billion yuan a year earlier.

"The aviation market has recovered quite a lot from the downturn," said Jack Xu, an analyst at Sinopac Securities Asia. "The Big Three are likely to report full-year profits given the sales performance and write-backs from the hedging contracts."

Hang Seng declines

Hong Kong's benchmark stock index fell to a two-week low, with developers sliding as the city's government seeks to curb property market speculation.

Sino Land Co, this year's best performer on the Hang Seng Property Index, declined 4.6 percent. HSBC, the biggest foreign issuer of credit cards in the US, declined 1.2 percent.

The Hang Seng Index slid 1.84 percent to 21,761.58, its lowest close since Oct 13. The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index slipped 2.4 percent to 12,831.18.