HK shares seen higher; shippers seen surging

HONG KONG, Feb 9 (Reuters) - Hong Kong shares are expected to move higher on Monday, in line with other regional bourses after Friday's gains on Wall Street, in anticipation that Washington will approve a huge stimulus for the world's largest economy this week.

Shares in billionaire Li Ka-shing's Hutchison Whampoa (0013.HK) will be watched after the company said it will merge its Australian businesses with that of Vodafone (VOD.L) to create a company able to take on the dominant operators.

The move creates a company with 6 million customers and combined annual revenue of A$4 billion ($2.7 billion), close in scale to Australia's two dominant mobile companies, Telstra Corp (TLS.AX) and Optus, owned by Singapore Telecommunications (STEL.SI).

Hutchison Telecommunications (Australia) Ltd (HTA.AX) was trading 4.4 percent higher at 0055 GMT.

Shipping stocks will also be in focus on Monday after the Baltic Dry Index .BADI, the global dry bulk freight index, shot up nearly 10 percent to a 3-month high on recovering iron ore imports by China.

The benchmark Hang Seng Index .HSI surged 3.6 percent in its third straight day of gains on Friday, buoyed by a sharp rally in the Shanghai index.

STOCKS TO WATCH-

* Sinopec Corp (600028.SS) (0386.HK) filling stations in Shanghai have raised some gasoline prices to 4.95 yuan ($0.72) per litre from 4.66 yuan despite a soft market, the official Shanghai Securities News said on Saturday.

The paper quoted an analyst as saying that the unusual move, at 59 gasoline stations under the refiner's Shanghai unit, may be a tentative step to forestall a price war in China's partially liberalised market as gasoline stocks rise and retail demand weakens.

* China COSCO Holdings (1919.HK) said on Friday its shareholders approved the bulk shippers' plan to issue up to 10 billion yuan worth of medium-term note in China. For statement please click here

* Bank of Communications (3328.HK) said last Friday it planned to issue up to 80 billion yuan worth of bonds with maturity of at least 5 years between 2009 and 2011 in the mainland, raising proceeds to improve its intermediate and long term equity-debt structure and support development of new business of intermediate and long term asset management. For statement please see here

* China insurance group Ping An (2318.HK)(601318.SS) said on Sunday it intended to vote against the sale of Fortis assets at a key vote on Feb 11. [ID:nL8591079]

* Agricultural products supplier China Agri-Industries (0606.HK) said a partly owned unit would team with COFCO to set up a 71.74 percent owned storage services joint venture with investment amounting to 336 million yuan. For statement please click here

* Hong Kong Resources Holdings (2882.HK) said on Sunday it would sell 8.13 percent of its stake to an investment unit owned by Henderson Land's (0012.HK) chairman Lee Shau Kee, raising HK$19.7 million to fund part of its acquisition of a jewellery retailer in Hong Kong with remainder for working capital. For statement please see here * HSBC Holdings (0005.HK) will cut as many as 1,000 jobs from its information technology and backroom administrative sections, teh South China Morning Post reported citing Lee Lai-ching, the president of Hong Kong Banking Employees Association. ----------------------MARKET SNAPSHOT @ 2302 GMT ------------

INSTRUMENT LAST PCT CHG NET CHG S&P 500 .SPX 868.6 2.69% 22.750 USD/JPY JPY= 92.12 0.37% 0.340 10-YR US TSY YLD US10YT=RR 2.9971 -- 0.000 SPOT GOLD XAU= 908.8 -0.32% -2.900 US CRUDE CLc1 40.01 -0.40% -0.170 DOW JONES .DJI 8280.59 2.70% 217.52 ------------------------------------------------------------- > Stimulus, bank rescue hopes boost Wall Street [.N] > US dollar, yen tumble on US stimulus, bank rescue hopes [USD/] > Bonds slip as jobs misery revives supply concerns [US/] > Gold ends shade firmer, eyes US economic stimulus [GOL/] > Oil falls $1 as U.S. job losses mount [O/R]

(Reporting by Parvathy Ullatil; Editing by Ken Wills) (parvathy.ullatil@thomsonreuters.com; +852 2843-6415))

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