HK shares expected to slip on Wall St retreat
HONG KONG, Aug 13 (Reuters) - Hong Kong shares are seen moving lower on Wednesday, guided by overnight losses on Wall Street, while commodity-linked stocks are set for another beating on retreating oil and gold prices.
Asia's top bourse operator HKEx (0388.HK) is expected to report flat second quarter earnings at midday today, triggering worries about an even worse second half amid fading trading volumes.
U.S. stocks fell on Tuesday, as bank shares tumbled on fresh worries about the economy and news that JPMorgan Chase (JPM.N) has racked up $1.5 billion of losses so far this quarter on mortgage-linked assets.
Oil fell to $113 a barrel overnight after government data showed the steepest decline in U.S. crude demand in 26 years, adding to mounting concerns about global consumption.
"There is no dearth of bad news in the market. The Hang Seng Index will inch closer and closer to the 21,000 support level in the short term," said Alex Tang, research director with Core Pacific Yamaichi.
Hong Kong shares ended Tuesday's volatile session 1 percent lower with steep losses by index heavyweight China Mobile (0941.HK) turning market sentiment negative and dragging the main index off early highs.
STOCKS TO WATCH-
* Lianhua Supermarket Holdings Co Ltd (0980.HK) on Wednesday posted a 61.8 percent increase in profit attributable to shareholders to 227 million yuan ($33.06 million) for the first half of 2008, thanks to continuous economic growth in China and rising disposable incomes. Shares in the company were suspended ahead of the earnings on Tuesday. For statement please see here
* China Oilfield Services Ltd (2883.HK) said late on Tuesday that China's Ministry of Commerce approved its increase in offshore capital contribution to COSL Hong Kong International Ltd for the purpose of financing the acquisition of Awilco Offshore ASA. For statement please see here
* China Shipping Development Co Ltd (1138.HK) said its first half profit increased to 3.18 billion yuan from 2.21 billion yuan a year ago amid rapidly increasing demand for bulk cargo such as iron ore and coal. For statement please see here
* Tack Fat Group International (0928.HK) said on Wednesday it expected its results for the year ended in March 2008 to fall significantly from a year ago period due to increasing production costs and the writeoff of certain inventories. For statement please see here
* China Oriental Group Co Ltd (0581.HK) said it would buy a 71 percent interest in Xinyi Iron and Steel in a deal worth 532.4 million yuan, raising the company's total steel production capacity to 7 million tonnes per annum. For statement please see here
* Zijin Mining Group Co Ltd (2899.HK) said it would buy a 40 percent stake it did not already own in Qinghai West Copper Mining for 864 million yuan. For statement please see here ----------------------MARKET SNAPSHOT @ 2338 GMT ------------
INSTRUMENT LAST PCT CHG NET CHG S&P 500 .SPX 1289.59 -1.21% -15.730 USD/JPY JPY= 109.34 0.1% 0.110 10-YR US TSY YLD US10YT=RR 3.909 -- 0.010 SPOT GOLD XAU= 810.95 0.04% 0.300 US CRUDE CLc1 113.23 0.19% 0.220 DOW JONES .DJI 11642.47 -1.19% -139.88 ASIA ADRS .BKAS 139.05 -1.49% -2.10 ------------------------------------------------------------- > SE Asia Stocks-Jakarta hits year low on weak coal shares [.SO] > US STOCKS-Worries about credit losses weigh on Wall Street [.N] > Oil falls to $113 as U.S. demand drops [O/R] > FOREX-U.S dollar snaps five-day rally vs euro [USD/] > TREASURIES-Bonds rise as credit worries spur safety [US/] > Gold plunges to 8-month low as investors jump ship [GOL/]
(Reporting by Parvathy Ullatil; Editing by Jonathan Hopfner)
