Hong Kong Stocks Seesaw In Holiday-shortened Trading Session

Hong Kong stocks swung between small gains and losss Wednesday morning, as investors remained cautious in a holiday-shortened trading session ahead of the Christmas holidays. The Hang Seng Index edged up 0.2%, with the Hang Seng China Enterprises up 0.4%. Most Mainland Chinsee property shares advanced, with Greentown China Holdings Ltd. leading the gains with a 25.7% surge, after the company said several of its major shareholders had sold a 24% stake to the state-owned China Communications Construction Co. Ltd for over 6 billion Hong Kong dollars ($774 million). China Communications Construction fell 1.5%. Among other gainers in the sector, China Resources Land Ltd. rose 1.9%, Evergrande Real Estate Group ltd. added 1.3%, and China Overseas Land & Investment Ltd. traded 1.2% higher. Energy names also gained, with oil producer Kunlun Energy Co. Ltd. climbing 2.3%, offshore oil and gas producer Cnooc Ltd. up 1.5%, and both state-owned energy giant PetroChina Co. Ltd. and refiner China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation higher by 1.4%. China Oilfield Services Ltd. jumped 2.5%. Over on the mainland, the Shanghai Composite Index dropped 0.5%.