HONG KONG, March 19 (Reuters) - Hong Kong shares are expected
to trade in a narrow range on Friday, tracking the lacklustre
performance of U.S. stocks, but China Mobile may shine
for a second day after upbeat earnings.
China Mobile's forecast-beating results helped lift its shares from earlier lackluster trade on Thursday.
'Sentiment remains positive. Wall Street edged higher but at a slow pace and volume was thin, so Hong Kong will probably just follow its performance,' said Alex Wong, director at Ample Finance Group.
The benchmark Hang Seng Index closed 0.25 percent lower on Thursday to 21,330, easing from an eight week closing high in the previous session.
The HSI may trade between 21,250-21,450 today, Wong said.
The Dow Industrial Average rose 0.4 percent on Thursday, but the broader Standard & Poor's 500 Index and the Nasdaq Composite Index both closed flat, as mixed data kept investors in check.
STOCKS TO WATCH:
* China Overseas Land. China's largest developer posted strong half-year profit growth and released plans to increase spending by a third this year.
* China Shenhua Energy said its commercial coal production rose 18 percent year-on-year in February to 17.7 million tonnes while coal sales rose 31.3 percent to 19.7 million tonnes. For statement please click http://www.hkexnews.hk/listedco/listconews/sehk/20100318/LTN20100318301.pdf
* Computer component distributor Artel Solutions Group said it planned to sell 400 million new shares at HK$0.52 each, or 3.7 percent discount to the previous close, raising HK$208 million to fund acquisitions and investment. For statement please click http://www.hkexnews.hk/listedco/listconews/sehk/20100319/LTN20100319003.pdf
* Yuexiu Property said it aims to sell about 540,000 square metres in gross floor area of properties all located in Guangzhou in 2010 with expected sales revenue of about 7.9 billion yuan. Its contracted sales for January and February was 130,300 square metres, generating 2.03 billion yuan, an increase of a respective 157.5 percent and 347.1 percent year-on-year. For statement please click http://www.hkexnews.hk/listedco/listconews/sehk/20100318/LTN20100318466.pdf
* Silver Base Group said it had entered into an exclusive agreement with Sichuan Yibin Wuliangye, a subsidiary of Wuliangye Yibin Co., Ltd, as the sole worldwide distributor of a type of liquor 'baiju of 53 percent Yongfu Jiangjiu' produced by Wuliangye Group for a term of five years. For statement please click http://www.hkexnews.hk/listedco/listconews/sehk/20100318/LTN20100318464.pdf
----------------------MARKET SNAPSHOT @ 2307 GMT ------------
INSTRUMENT LAST PCT CHG NET CHG
S&P 500 1165.83 -0.03% -0.380
USD/JPY 90.42 0.08% 0.070
10-YR US TSY YLD 3.6759 -
0.000
SPOT GOLD 1126.2 0.07% 0.750
US CRUDE 82.12 -0.10% -0.080
DOW JONES 10779.17 0.42% 45.50 > Dow gains for 8th straight day; Palm sinks late > Euro drops on Greece fears; Swiss franc rises on SNB > Bonds fall as investors ponder pending supply > Gold rises as safe haven despite dollar rise > Oil dips toward $82 on firmer dollar, OPEC exports
((Reporting by Jun Ebias; Editing by Ken Wills))
((jun.ebias@thomsonreuters.com; +852 2843 6537; Reuters Messaging: jun.ebias.reuters.com@reuters.net)) Pan-Asia...... Japan........ S.Korea.... S.E. Asia............ Hong Kong... Taiwan..... Australia/NZ......... India....... China...... OTHER MARKETS: Wall Street........... Gold......... Currency.. Eurostocks........... Oil........... JP bonds... ADR Report.......... LME metals.. US bonds... Stocks News US... Stocks News Europe... DIARIES & DATA: IPO diary & data Asia earnings diary U.S. earnings diary European diary Taiwan diary Wall Street Week Ahead Eurostocks Week Ahead World forecasts TOP NEWS: For top Asian company news, double click on: U.S. company news European company news Forex news Global Economy news Technology news Telecoms news Media news Banking news Politics/General news Asia Macro data A multimedia version of Reuters Top News is available at: http://topnews.session.rservices.com LIVE PRICES & DATA: World Stocks Currency rates Dow Jones/NASDAQ Nikkei FTSE 100 Debt Hong Kong Dollar LME price overview Keywords: MARKETS HONGKONG STOCKS (If you have a query or comment on this story, send an email to news.feedback.asia@thomsonreuters.com) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2010. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
China Mobile's forecast-beating results helped lift its shares from earlier lackluster trade on Thursday.
'Sentiment remains positive. Wall Street edged higher but at a slow pace and volume was thin, so Hong Kong will probably just follow its performance,' said Alex Wong, director at Ample Finance Group.
The benchmark Hang Seng Index closed 0.25 percent lower on Thursday to 21,330, easing from an eight week closing high in the previous session.
The HSI may trade between 21,250-21,450 today, Wong said.
The Dow Industrial Average rose 0.4 percent on Thursday, but the broader Standard & Poor's 500 Index and the Nasdaq Composite Index both closed flat, as mixed data kept investors in check.
STOCKS TO WATCH:
* China Overseas Land. China's largest developer posted strong half-year profit growth and released plans to increase spending by a third this year.
* China Shenhua Energy said its commercial coal production rose 18 percent year-on-year in February to 17.7 million tonnes while coal sales rose 31.3 percent to 19.7 million tonnes. For statement please click http://www.hkexnews.hk/listedco/listconews/sehk/20100318/LTN20100318301.pdf
* Computer component distributor Artel Solutions Group said it planned to sell 400 million new shares at HK$0.52 each, or 3.7 percent discount to the previous close, raising HK$208 million to fund acquisitions and investment. For statement please click http://www.hkexnews.hk/listedco/listconews/sehk/20100319/LTN20100319003.pdf
* Yuexiu Property said it aims to sell about 540,000 square metres in gross floor area of properties all located in Guangzhou in 2010 with expected sales revenue of about 7.9 billion yuan. Its contracted sales for January and February was 130,300 square metres, generating 2.03 billion yuan, an increase of a respective 157.5 percent and 347.1 percent year-on-year. For statement please click http://www.hkexnews.hk/listedco/listconews/sehk/20100318/LTN20100318466.pdf
* Silver Base Group said it had entered into an exclusive agreement with Sichuan Yibin Wuliangye, a subsidiary of Wuliangye Yibin Co., Ltd, as the sole worldwide distributor of a type of liquor 'baiju of 53 percent Yongfu Jiangjiu' produced by Wuliangye Group for a term of five years. For statement please click http://www.hkexnews.hk/listedco/listconews/sehk/20100318/LTN20100318464.pdf
----------------------MARKET SNAPSHOT @ 2307 GMT ------------
INSTRUMENT LAST PCT CHG NET CHG
S&P 500 1165.83 -0.03% -0.380
USD/JPY 90.42 0.08% 0.070
10-YR US TSY YLD 3.6759 -
0.000
SPOT GOLD 1126.2 0.07% 0.750
US CRUDE 82.12 -0.10% -0.080
DOW JONES 10779.17 0.42% 45.50 > Dow gains for 8th straight day; Palm sinks late > Euro drops on Greece fears; Swiss franc rises on SNB > Bonds fall as investors ponder pending supply > Gold rises as safe haven despite dollar rise > Oil dips toward $82 on firmer dollar, OPEC exports
((Reporting by Jun Ebias; Editing by Ken Wills))
((jun.ebias@thomsonreuters.com; +852 2843 6537; Reuters Messaging: jun.ebias.reuters.com@reuters.net)) Pan-Asia...... Japan........ S.Korea.... S.E. Asia............ Hong Kong... Taiwan..... Australia/NZ......... India....... China...... OTHER MARKETS: Wall Street........... Gold......... Currency.. Eurostocks........... Oil........... JP bonds... ADR Report.......... LME metals.. US bonds... Stocks News US... Stocks News Europe... DIARIES & DATA: IPO diary & data Asia earnings diary U.S. earnings diary European diary Taiwan diary Wall Street Week Ahead Eurostocks Week Ahead World forecasts TOP NEWS: For top Asian company news, double click on: U.S. company news European company news Forex news Global Economy news Technology news Telecoms news Media news Banking news Politics/General news Asia Macro data A multimedia version of Reuters Top News is available at: http://topnews.session.rservices.com LIVE PRICES & DATA: World Stocks Currency rates Dow Jones/NASDAQ Nikkei FTSE 100 Debt Hong Kong Dollar LME price overview Keywords: MARKETS HONGKONG STOCKS (If you have a query or comment on this story, send an email to news.feedback.asia@thomsonreuters.com) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2010. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
