HK stocks slip with Shanghai; Hutchison jumps

(Adds details)

HONG KONG, May 15 (Reuters) - Hong Kong stocks slipped on
Thursday, in line with Shanghai's index, as cautious investors
shrugged off regional gains and offloaded shares, but Hutchison
Whampoa (0013.HK: Quote, Profile, Research) jumped after a broker upgrade.

"The underlying tone (of the market) was not that bad and
that prevented the stocks from falling too far, but an absence of
fresh incentives and new funds entering the market capped the
upside," said Patrick Yiu, a director from CASH Asset Management.

"Unless (the index) breaks through either side of the 24,800
and 26,000 range, the direction is still unclear."

Investors had largely digested the impact from China's
devastating earthquake and their focus was turning back to
inflation worries on the mainalnd, brokers said.

The benchmark Hang Seng Index closed down 0.08 percent, or
19.77 points, at 25,513.71. It opened up 0.73 percent.

The blue chip Hang Seng Index .HSI has rebouned about 24
percent from its low in mid-March, but is down more than 8
percent so far this year.

The China Enterprises Index of Hong Kong-listed mainland
companies .HSCE, or H shares, closed up 0.34 percent at
14,027.55.

Mainboard turnover rose to HK$80.2 billion ($10.3 billion)
from HK$67.92 billion on Wednesday.

Hutchison topped the list of most heavily traded stocks,
jumping as high as HK$83.60 before closing at HK$83.30, up 5.51
percent.

Citigroup upgraded Hutchison to buy from hold, saying the
ports-to-telecom conglomerate was turning the corner as its 3G
business was expected to break even this year and it was likely
to get a bumper contribution from China property in 2008. It
raised Hutchison's target price to HK$90 from HK$82.

Selling in index heavyweights such as China Mobile (0941.HK: Quote, Profile, Research),
down 0.3 percent, and China Life (2628.HK: Quote, Profile, Research), down 0.6 percent,
offset gains in Hutchison and PetroChina (0857.HK: Quote, Profile, Research).

PetroChina (0857.HK: Quote, Profile, Research), the second most heavily traded stock,
rose 2.2 percent to HK$11.14. The oil refiner said one third of
quake-affected gas production had been restored but oil supplies
were running short. [ID:nPEK241125]

CNPC, parent of PetroChina and a dominant energy supplier in
southwest China, said the impact on oil demand was marginal due
to the loss of power. [ID:nL14832223]

Tencent Holdings (0700.HK: Quote, Profile, Research) surged 7.9 percent to HK$69.85
after Citigroup raised its target price for the Chinese Internet
firm to HK$75 from HK$63. [ID:nHKG278769] [ID:nHKG293495]

Another bright spot was Bank of East Asia (0023.HK: Quote, Profile, Research), which
rose 3.39 percent to HK$45.70 after Goldman Sachs upgraded the
lender to buy from neutral, saying the bank's earnings were
resilient and its new debit card business in China would
accelerate its deposit growth on the mainland. [ID:nHKG281545]

Shaw Brothers (0080.HK: Quote, Profile, Research), which surged to an all-time high of
HK$23.20, reversed course and ended 1.65 percent lower at
HK$20.90. The Hong Kong media conglomerate said its controlling
shareholder was in talks to sell its slice of the Hong Kong media
conglomerate led by movie mogul Run Run Shaw. [ID:nL14156688]
(US$1=HK$7.8)
(Reporting by Donny Kwok; Editing by Anne Marie Roantree)