Hong Kong Stocks Roll Back Previous Session's Moves

Hong Kong stocks opened to a Tuesday session that was in many ways the exact opposite of Monday's action: Housing shares up, airline shares down, and the overall market making a small gain (Hang Seng Index up 0.1%) after the previous day's heavy losses (when the index lost 2.6%). Mainland Chinese names also mostly gained, with the Shanghai Composite Index up 0.2% and Hong Kong's H-share index up 0.8%. Real-estate developers rebounded, as China Overseas Land & Investment Ltd. rose 1.3%, and Sino Land Co. gained 1.1%, while energy shares also bounced back, tracking a recovery for oil prices, with PetroChina Co. up 1.6%, and Cnooc Ltd. up 2.1%. Likewise, airlines gave up their strong gains from the Monday session, also in reaction to the oil-market moves, as Air China Ltd. and Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd. fell 2.5% each, and China Southern Airlines Co. lost 4.4%. But one constant from the previous day was further losses for the Macau casino operators, hit by a 20% dive for the gambling enclave's November gross gaming revenue. Sands China Ltd. lost 2%, and Galaxy Entertainment Group Ltd. fell 1.4%, while off the Hang Seng Index, Wynn Macau Ltd. dropped 1.6%, and MGM China Holdings Ltd. retreated 0.7%. Meanwhile, life-insurance names saw gains, with China Life Insurance Co. up 2.1%, and Ping An Insurance Group Co. up 2.2% after gains in the wake of a well-received share placement.