Hong Kong Stocks Extend Gains; Tencent, Oil Shares Up

Hong Kong stocks added to their previous advance, with the Hang Seng Index up 0.9% early Thursday. Online major Tencent Holdings Ltd. , the second-largest Hang Seng constituent, rose 1.2%, after its fourth-quarter earnings surged 50%. Energy plays also recorded broad gains, following a strong rebound in international crude prices overnight. PetroChina Co. advanced 1.5%, Kunlun Energy Co. added 1.4%, Cnooc Ltd. rose 1%, and China Petroleum & Chemical Corp. (commonly known as Sinopec) moved up 0.5%. Correspondingly, most airlines and shipping shares declined on fears of rising fuel costs: China Southern Airlines Co. lost 2.6%, China Eastern Airlines Corp. fell 1.2%, Cosco International Holdings Ltd. dropped 0.9%, and China Merchants Holdings International Co. slipped 0.3%. On the upside, Macau casino operator Wynn Macau Ltd. recovered 5.6% from recent heavy losses, and other gaming stocks also gained, with Melco Crown Entertainment Ltd. climbing 2.8%, MGM China Holdings Ltd. up 1.7%, and SJM Holdings Ltd. higher by 1.4%. Among other movers, telecoms giant China Mobile Ltd. retreated 0.5%, ahead of its earnings, due later in the day, while Ping An Insurance Group Co. edged up 0.3% ahead of its annual results, also scheduled to come out Thursday. Over on the Chinese mainland, the Shanghai Composite Index pulled back by 0.3%.