HONG KONG, May 21 (Reuters) - Hong Kong shares are seen lower
for a second straight day on Thursday with the U.S. Federal
Reserve giving investors more reason to doubt a quick recovery
for the world's largest economy.
News that the U.S. Fed cut its 2009 forecast for gross
domestic product and raised its outlook for unemployment sent
Wall Street shares lower on Wednesday. [ID:nN20492043]
But losses may be limited by climbing crude oil prices, which
hit a six-month high above $62 per barrel overnight after data
showed a steep drop in U.S. crude inventories.
Investors would also try to keep the main index well-above
17,000 points in the run-up to the index futures expiry next
Wednesday, said brokers.
The benchmark Hang Seng Index .HSI snapped a three-day
rally to drift 0.4 percent lower to 17,475.84 on Wednesday with
weak U.S. housing data providing investors with an excuse to lock
in gains.
STOCKS TO WATCH-
* Melco International (0200.HK) said its 34.11 percent owned
Melco Crown Entertainment (MPEL.O) posted a sharp drop in net
revenue to US$216.5 million for the first quarter of 2009, from
US$482.9 million a year earlier. The decrease was driven by an
abnormally high win rate and greater rolling chip volume at
Altira Macau in the first quarter. Melco Crown recorded a net
loss of US$35.3 million for the quarter, compared with a US$43.2
million profit a year earlier. For statement please see
here
* China Yunnan Tin Minerals (0263.HK) planned to sell 600
million new shares at HK$0.27 each to its major shareholder
Oriental Genesis after the major shareholder completed sales of
the same amount of existing shares at the same price to third
party investors. The HK$158 million in net proceeds will be used
for general working capital. For statement please click
here
* Mongolia Energy Corporation (0276.HK) said it expected to
record a loss for the year ended March 31 this year, compared
with a profit for the previous year, led by a loss relating to
exploration expenses.
For statement please click
here
* Shenzhen Expressway (0548.HK) said average daily toll
revenue at its Meiguan Expressway rose 3.2 percent in April,
while revenue at its Jihe West expressway fell 7.3 percent as
slowdowns in macro-economic growth affected the performance of
some of its highways. For statement please click
here
* Huaneng Power (0902.HK) said its 100 percent owned Gansu
Ganhekou Second Wind Power Project has been approved by the
National Development and Reform Commission. The project will have
a total planned installed capacity of 199.5 MW, with investment
totalling 2.037 billion yuan ($298.5 million), of which 33.3
percent is equity capital to be funded by the company and
remainder to be funded by bank loans. For statement please click
here
----------------------MARKET SNAPSHOT @ 2243 GMT ------------
INSTRUMENT LAST PCT CHG NET CHG
S&P 500 .SPX 903.47 -0.51% -4.660
USD/JPY JPY= 94.88 0.02% 0.020
10-YR US TSY YLD US10YT=RR 3.1875 -- 0.000
SPOT GOLD XAU= 937.35 0.03% 0.250
US CRUDE CLc1 61.53 -0.82% -0.510
DOW JONES .DJI 8422.04 -0.62% -52.81
ASIA ADRS .BKAS 108.40 0.28% 0.30
-------------------------------------------------------------
MARKETS SUMMARY
*Wall St retreats on Fed outlook, banks sell off [nN20535614]
*Oil rises more than 3 percent to hit 6-month high [nSIN233823]
*Fed mulled increasing Treasury buys-April minutes [nN20492043]
*Dollar falls on safe-haven weakness, Fed minutes [nN20525273]
(Reporting by Parvathy Ullatil; Editing by Chris Lewis)
