HK shares seen little changed, HSBC under pressure

HONG KONG, March 31 (Reuters) - Hong Kong shares are expected to trade sideways on Tuesday, with global lender HSBC (0005.HK) coming under pressure after recent gains while the rest of the market is supported by firm regional market sentiment.

Mainland stocks listed in Hong Kong may also bounce back after the market posted on Monday its biggest single-day drop in three weeks.

"The underlying tone is not that bad, and we may see a rebound led by Chinese stocks as they were oversold during the recent plunge," said Patrick Yiu, a director with CASH Asset Management.

The benchmark Hang Seng Index .HSI closed down 663.17 points or 4.7 percent at 13,456.33 on Monday. Turnover was down at HK$51.5 billion, compared with Friday's HK$58.9 billion.

The China Enterprises Index .HSCE of top mainland firms was down 6.9 percent at 7,900.09 after piling on 13 percent last week.

"HSBC will be under pressure and would no doubt drag down the market," said Francis Lun, general manager at Fulbright Securities.

Speculators had piled into HSBC shares and its nil-paid rights that began trading in Hong Kong last week.

"However, the broader market will track the overseas market following a firmer tone in Japan, Taiwan, and South Korea."

STOCKS TO WATCH

* China Construction Bank (0939.HK), under pressure from investors offloading its shares, has revealed that strategic shareholder, Singapore government investment firm Temasek [TEM.UL], intends to add shares in the bank, the Ming Pao Daily News reported. * Anhui Conch Cement (0914.HK) said late on Monday it would increase its capital expenditure to 8 billion yuan in 2009, from 5.1 billion yuan in 2008, for the construction of cement and clinker production lines and for residual heat electricity generation projects in a bid to meet the growing demand for cement as government expands infrastructure investment. For statement please click here

* Fashion retailer Esprit (0330.HK) said it was in discussions with a candidate to assume the role of CEO and that current chief executive Heinz Krogner intended to remain as executive chairman until Dec. 10. But Esprit said it had not received notice of Krogner's resignation as chief executive officer. here. ------------------ MARKET SNAPSHOT @ 2258 GMT ---------------

INSTRUMENT LAST PCT CHG NET CHG S&P 500 .SPX 787.53 -3.48% -28.410 USD/JPY JPY= 97.46 0.2% 0.190 10-YR US TSY YLD US10YT=RR 2.7226 -- 0.009 SPOT GOLD XAU= 915.5 -0.09% -0.800 US CRUDE CLc1 48.74 0.68% 0.330 DOW JONES .DJI 7522.02 -3.27% -254.16 ASIA ADRS .BKAS 87.26 -4.88% -4.48 -------------------------------------------------------------

MARKET SUMMARY *Wall St hits the brakes on autos, bank woes [ID:nN30361535] *Oil falls over 7 pct on dollar, stock market [D:nSYD421224] *Auto, bank worries lift save-haven dollar, yen [ID:nN30361803] *Treasuries benefit from renewed slump in stocks [ID:nN30590763] (Reporting by Nerilyn Tenorio and Donny Kwok, Editing by Jacqueline Wong)