HK shares seen up; Hutchison,Cheung Kong watched
HONG KONG, Aug 21 (Reuters) - Hong Kong shares are likely to continue their upward march at Thursday's opening on hopes of a stimulus package to revive the battered mainland Chinese market but investors will be on watch for earnings announcements due later.
The two Li Ka-shing flagships Hutchison Whampoa (0013.HK) and Cheung Kong Holdings (0001.HK) are expected to post sharp declines in first half profit at mid-day today. [ID:nHKG3973]
U.S. stocks rose on Wednesday as bank and energy shares rebounded even as investors dumped Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac on fears of an imminent government bailout of the housing finance firms.
Oil prices rose to near $115 a barrel on Wednesday after Russia responded angrily to a U.S. missile shield agreement with Poland, raising the threat of a supply disruption from the huge energy producer.
Hong Kong shares recovered from early losses with the benchmark index climbing 2.18 percent on Wednesday amid hopes of a stimulus package to aid fragile mainland stock markets, bucking weak sentiment in the region.
STOCKS TO WATCH-
*Hutchison Whampoa (0013.HK), controlled by billionaire Li Ka-shing, is likely to post a 71 percent fall in first-half net profit on lower income from asset sales, but its underlying profit should rise, thanks to a strong performance at Husky Energy (HSE.TO) and improved 3G business.
Earnings at sister firm Cheung Kong (Holdings) (0001.HK), the city's second-largest developer by market value, should fall by a similar degree as it owns nearly half of the ports-to-telecoms conglomerate, according to analyst forecasts.
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*China South Locomotive & Rolling Stock Corp Ltd (1766.HK), the country's largest train maker will make its Hong Kong trading debut on Thursday after the firm raised a combined $1.5 billion in a Hong Kong and Shanghai listing. The stock jumped 55 percent on its Shanghai debut Monday.
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* City Telecom (1137.HK) said on Thursday it estimated its profit attributable to shareholders for the year ending 31 August 2008 to increase by more than 200 percent year-on-year due to improvement in its fixed telecommunications network services. For statement please see here
- - - - * Huadian Power (1071.HK) said it received notice from the National Development and Reform Commission on raising average on-grid electricity tariffs, inclusive of value-added tax, by 22.59 yuan/MWh, or an increase of about 5.78 percent.
The increase in tariffs, which came into effect from August 20, aims to ease the production and operation difficulties of thermal power generation enterprises and to secure normal power supply and orderly production. For statement please see here
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* ZTE Corp (0763.HK) has won 50 percent of the contracts from China Telecom Group's CDMA wireless value-added services platform worth a combined 10 billion yuan, the South China Morning Post reported.
The telecom gear maker announced a 21.2 percent increase in its first half net profit of Wednesday. [ID:nHKF079412]
(Reporting by Parvathy Ullatil; editing by Keiron Henderson)
