HK Hot Stocks - Sinopec slides; MTR bucks trend

HONG KONG, July 29 - By 0345 GMT, the benchmark Hang Seng Index <.HSI> was down 1.8 percent at 20,262.51.

The China Enterprises Index <.HSCE>, which represents top locally listed mainland Chinese stocks, was 2.6 percent lower at 12,100.88.

Here are some of the stock on the move in early trade-

* China's BBMG Corp <2009.HK> surged 65 percent in their Hong Kong trading debut on Wednesday after an overwhelming response to its $768 million IPO, fuelled by strong interest in new listings.

The stock extended gains to HK$10.50 shortly after opening at HK$10.20 but retreated to HK$10.10 by mid-morning, compared with an initial public offering (IPO) price of HK$6.38.

* MTR Corp <0066.HK> bucked the trend to rise 1.1 percent to HK$27.15 as the city's subway operator, which owns large tracts of land along raillines on its defensive appeal and expectations of a pick-up in the local property market.

A joint housing development with Cheung Kong Holdings <0001.HK> launched earlir this month has recorded strong sales, local newspapers reported, amid tight supply in the territory's home market.

On Tuesday Bank of America Merill Lynch lifted its target price on the stock to HK$30 from HK$27 on hopes for an upside in its first-half earnings and the launch of a new residential project in September.

* Top refiner Sinopec Corp <0386.HK> shed 5.7 percent to HK$6.73 after China trimmed retail fuel prices by a modest 3 percent following two big increases last month that raised rates to their highest ever.

"The price cut might create an impression in the market that the government is reacting more sensitively to oil price drops than price increases for crude oil," said Bank of America-Merrill Lynch analyst Thomas Wong.

"However, the government will increase product prices in the next few weeks to reflect the recent crude oil price rally," he said, adding that the short-term overhang on Sinopec shares made for a good buying opportunity.

Sinopec has advanced 21 percent since the beginning of July on expectations of solid second-quarter earnings, with China's partially liberalised price regime helping to shore up refining margins.

Asia's largest oil and gas producer PetroChina <0857.HK>, which also has refining operations, lost 3.1 percent.

* China COSCO Holdings <1919.HK> slipped 5.9 percent after China's biggest shipping conglomerate said it expected to record a first-half loss as recession battered the global shipping industry. It did not say when it would disclose its first-half results.

The group said its container vessel fleet and its dry bulk vessel fleet both recorded losses, although conditions for the dry bulk shipping market had started to improve.

The company recorded a profit of 15.12 billion yuan ($2.21 billion) for the first six months of 2008, while its stock has rebounded 114 percent after losing three quarters of its value in last year's sell-off.

* CC Land Holding <1224.HK> retreated 8.7 percent to HK$6.01 after it said it would sell HK$2.53 billion (US$327 million) worth of shares at a discount to a major shareholder, raising capital to fund land acquisitions and property development.

The company said it would sell 428 million shares to Thrivetrade Ltd, a company controlled by chairman Cheung Chung Kiu, at HK$5.92 per share, a 10.03 percent discount to Monday's closing price prior to a trading suspension.

* Jiangxi Copper <0358.HK> slid 6.5 percent to HK$16.68 after flagging a likely 57-64 percent fall in first-half profit from a year earlier on a substantial drop in product prices. [ID:nHKG256826]

* China Strategic <0235.HK> shot up 6.5 percent on its plan to buy a controlling interest in an insurance company in Greater China region. The company said it would seek shareholder approval to raise HK$7.8 billion in new funds through an issuance of convertible securities to fund the acquisition, which is still at a preliminary stage.