HK Hot Stocks: Chinese food producers, HNC skid
HONG KONG, Jan 17 (Reuters) - Here are some stocks on the move in Hong Kong on Thursday:
As of 0230 GMT, the blue-chip Hang Seng Index .HSI was up 1.7 percent in a rebound after Wednesday's sell-off.
The index opened up 1 percent at 24,705.08.
STOCKS ON THE MOVE:
* Hunan Nonferrous Metals (2626.HK), China's top zinc producer, sank 5.6 percent to HK$4.56 after saying falling prices in electrolytic zinc would lead a subsidiary to report at least a 75 percent decrease in its 2007 profit [ID:nHKG23221].
* Telecoms rebound strongly
China Netcom (0906.HK), the smaller of the country's two fixed-line telecoms operators, gained 5.7 percent to HK$25.
China Telecom (0728.HK), the country's top fixed-line provider, jumped 4.4 percent to HK$6.38.
Morgan Stanley raised the stock ratings of China Netcom and China Telecom to equal-weight from under-weight as the firms will benefit from China's potential telecoms restructuring [ID:nHKG3719].
China Unicom (0762.HK) gained nearly 8 percent to HK$17.92.
But China Mobile (0941.HK), whose current dominant position in the wireless space could be undercut in the reshuffling, saw its shares edge up just 0.8 percent to HK$119.40.
* China price controls coupled with latest tightening measure hit some food stocks.
China on Wednesday raised the proportion of deposits that banks must hold in reserve for the eleventh time since the start of 2007 [ID:nPEK9395].
China's planning agency said in an official release they would closely monitor price increases in food items like milk eggs, grain products and other products, Merrill Lynch said in a report, adding that the directive was "stricter than expected".
Milk processor China Mengniu Dairy Co Ltd (2319.HK) tumbled nearly 7 percent to HK$23.10 in heavy trade.
Uni-President China Holdings Ltd (0220.HK), a mainland beverages and instant noodles producer, plunged 9.1 percent to HK$4.99. China Foods (0506.HK) sank 8.2 percent to HK$5.61.
China's tightening measure also hit some mainland real estate stocks. Country Garden (2007.HK) fell 2.6 percent to HK$6.87 and SOHO China (0410.HK) declined 4 percent to HK$6.18.
* Sinopec Corp (0386.HK) jumped 2.9 percent to HK$9.20. The oil refiner said on Thursday it had received regulatory approval to launch convertible bond offers to fund expansion [ID:nSXA10098]. (Reporting by Rita Chang; Editing by Anne Marie Roantree)
