HONG KONG, April 24 (Reuters) - Hong Kong stocks are expected
to rise on Thursday, as China's move to cut a share trading tax
could end China's six-month bear market and boost mainland stocks
by over 20 percent in coming weeks.
"Hong Kong's shares are likely to follow China-related
counters," said Alex Tang, research director at Core
Pacific-Yamaichi International.
"Looking at recent earnings, there has certainly been some
disappointments," Tang added. "But with the increase in volume,
you are going to see some upside, though the market may reverse
course after first-half earnings because investors are still
concerned."
Tang said the market could gain between 400-500 points on
Thursday.
The reduction in the stamp tax in China, to 0.1 percent from
0.3 percent, will make little difference to the investment costs
of all but the most active short-term traders.[nPEK341655]
Chinese investors take their cues from government policy, a
legacy of China's history as a command economy.
On Wednesday, Hong Kong's benchmark Hang Seng Index .HSI
gained 350.09 points, to close at 25,289.24.
The China Enterprises Index of Hong Kong-listed mainland
companies .HSCE, or H shares, jumped 3.11 percent to end at
13,838.22.
STOCKS TO WATCH:
* Sinopec (0386.HK) will invest 20 billion yuan ($2.9
billion) to upgrade its plants before 2010 to ensure its refined
oil products meet new national standards, a company official
said, paving the way for equipment suppliers to compete for
orders from Asia's top refiner. [ID:nHKG189434]
* China High Speed Transmission Equipment Group Co Ltd
(0658.HK), the country's top maker of gears for wind power
transmission, plans to nearly quadruple capacity over the next
two years to feed a robust global appetite for renewable energy
as oil prices skyrocket.[nHKG264442]
* Star Cruises (0678.HK) said it would sell two vessels for an
aggregate US$380 million. For details please see
here
* Datang International (0991.HK) said it generated 6.45 percent
more power during the first quarter of 2008 at 29.306 billion kWh
due to an increase in capacity of operating generation units.
Total on-grid power generation amounted to 27.561 billion kWh
during the quarter, up 6.24 percent against the same period a
year ago.
FACTORS TO WATCH:
* Nikkei .N225 edges up 0.2 pct, exporters bought [.T]
* U.S. stocks-Tech sector's gains lift Wall St, Apple falls [.N]
* STOCKS NEWS ASIA-Market factors, main events [STXNEWS/ASIA]
* Oil gains on U.S. gasoline inventory fall [O/R]
* Dollar FOREX-Euro slips from record on weak data [USD/]
* For upcoming Hong Kong events, click on [HK/DIARY]
* For Hong Kong press digest, click on [PRESS/HK]
KEY HK ADR MOVERS (by % change)
Huaneng Power (HNP.N)(0902.HK) +15.8
Aluminum Corp (ACH.N)(2600.HK) +11.4
China South Air (ZNH.N)(1055.HK) +11.4
Semiconductor Mfng (SMI.N)(0981.HK) +11.2
China Life (LFC.N)(2628.HK) +10.6
(US$1=HK$7.8)
(Reporting by Joseph Chaney; Editing by Anne Marie Roantree)
