HK shares seen higher on commodity stocks,financials
HONG KONG, Nov 25 (Reuters) - Hong Kong shares are set to gain on Tuesday, with resurgent oil prices seen supporting commodity counters and financials propped up by a relief rally on Wall Street after the government's decision to bail out Citigroup (C.N)
Other regional markets led early gains in Asia, with Japan's Nikkei Average .N225 rising 5 percent and South Korea's KOSPI climbing 4.7 percent.
Shares in China Life (2628.HK), the world's largest life insurer by market value, will be in focus on Tuesday after a senior executive told Reuters it was interested in buying Asian assets of American International Group (AIG.N). [ID:nSHA43914]
The Hang Seng Index .HSI closed Monday 1.6 percent lower at 12,457.94 amid wafer-thin volumes, as investors waited to see Wall Street's reaction to the Citigroup rescue plan.
STOCKS TO WATCH
* Standard Chartered (2888.HK) said trading in its shares would resume on Tuesday after a suspension on Monday afternoon to give shareholders and investors enough time to digest news of its 1.8 billion pound ($2.7 billion) rights issue plan. For statement please see here
Separately, Standard Chartered could lose its 146-year-old Hong Kong note-issuing status as a result of its capital raising plan, which could push up foreign government holding in the bank to more than 20 percent, the South China Morning Post said, quoting Hong Kong Monetary Authority chief Joseph Yam.
Yam added, however, "it is unlikely to happen". He did not elaborate.
His comments came after Singapore's state investment company, Temasek, which already holds a 19 percent stake in the UK-based bank, said it would participate in the lender's rights issue.
* Cathay Pacific (0293.HK) said on Monday Hong Kong Civil Aviation Department had approved its move to reduce passenger fuel surcharges for short-haul services by 45 percent and for long-haul services by 40 percent, effective Dec 1, for two months. It said jet fuel costs accounted for about half of its net operating costs so far this year.
* China National Resources Development Holdings Ltd (0661.HK) said late on Monday China's State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission had approved Hubei Daye Non Ferrous Metals Co's acquisition of a 49.89 percent stake in the firm's holding company, China Times Development Ltd.
Following the acquisition, Hubei Daye Non Ferrous will participate in the management of the firm. Trading in the stock, which was suspended on Nov 20, will resume on Tuesday. For statement please see here
* Beijing Capital Land (2868.HK) said on Monday its controlling shareholder, Capital Group, bought 17.71 million H shares in the open market, raising its stake to 47.21 percent from 46.34 percent. For statement please see here
* Guangzhou R&F Properties Co., Ltd (2777.HK) said on Monday it had set its contracted sales target from 38 projects for 2009 at 22 billion yuan, 30 percent higher than the revised sales target for 2008.
The property firm said it believed China's property market had passed the worst of the crisis and would regain confidence in three to five months, helping property prices stabilize. For statement please see here --------------------MARKET SNAPSHOT @ 23:55 GMT------------------
INSTRUMENT LAST PCT CHG NET CHG
S&P 500 .SPX 851.81 6.47% 51.780
USD/JPY JPY= 96.85 -0.24% -0.230]
10-YR US TSY YLD US10YT=RR 3.335 -- 0.004
SPOT GOLD XAU= $816.85 -0.33% -2.700
US CRUDE CLc1 $54.61 0.20% 0.110
DOW JONES .DJI 8443.39 4.93% 396.97
ASIA ADRS .BKAS 85.80 5.74% 4.66 ------------------------------------------------------------- > US STOCKS-Wall Street flies after government rescues Citi [.N] > FOREX-Dollar falls as risk aversion drops on Citi news [USD/] > TREASURIES-US bonds tumble as stocks rally on Citi bailout[US/] > Oil leaps 9 pct as OPEC, equities support [O/R] > Gold hits 5-wk high, financial crisis fuels demand [GOL/] (Reporting by Parvathy Ullatil; Editing by Anne Marie Roantree)
