HK shares seen higher; caution ahead of US jobs data
HONG KONG, June 5 (Reuters) - Hong Kong shares are seen higher on Friday, helped by strong commodity prices and a set of upbeat U.S. data stoking expectations the economic slump is fading.
But gains may be capped ahead of the release of key U.S. jobs data due later on Friday. May non-farm payrolls are forecast to have fallen by 520,000, following a decline of 539,000 in April, while the unemployment rate is predicted to have risen to 9.2 percent from 8.9 percent.
Fewer U.S. workers filed new claims for jobless benefits for a third straight week last week and productivity rose faster than expected in the first quarter, data showed on Thursday. [ID:nN04201550]
Oil prices stayed above $69 per barrel after hitting a seven-month high on Thursday with U.S. data triggering expectations of an economic recovery that could revive ailing energy demand.
The benchmark Hang Seng Index .HSI closed down 0.4 percent on Thursday as weaker-than-expected U.S. private jobs data triggered profit-taking after recent rallies,
STOCKS TO WATCH
* Engineering systems contractor China Jin Hui Mining (0462.HK) on Friday said it would buy a 20 percent stake in New Zealand dairy products and livestock investor UBNZ Assets Holdings Ltd from UBNZ Trustee Ltd for about HK$479.8 million, in a bid to expand the scope of its business.
The Hong Kong-listed company will have an option to buy the remaining 80 percent stake for HK$1.92 billion. The deal will be settled by bank borrowing and an issue of convertible bonds. Trading in the shares will resume on Friday. For statement please click here
* China Resources Power Holdings (0836.HK) late on Thursday said it would issue up to 432.27 million rights shares in the proportion of one rights share for every 10 existing shares held at HK$14 per share, raising HK$6.05 billion to enhance its financial position and to fund future acquisitions of coal reserves in China.
For statement please click here
* Guangdong Investment Ltd (0270.HK) on Thursday said its unit had won a tender to buy a site in Tianjin, upon which a large-scale modern shopping mall was planned with investment totaling about 2.13 billion yuan ($311.7 million). The company also planned to lease part of the mall to operate a department store. For statement please click here
* Cement distributor TCC International Holdings (1136.HK) said it would buy from its substantial shareholder TCC International a Chinese cement producer TCCI (Guangxi) for HK$1.76 billion, a deal to be settled by issue of 651.17 million convertible preference shares. For statement please click here
* China Telecom (0728.HK) almost doubled its marketing budget to 957 million yuan, from 481 million yuan, in the first four months in a bid to encourage mainland mobile-phone users to subscribe to its 3G service, the South China Morning Post reported.
China Telecom, China Mobile (0941.HK), and China Unicom spent 2.63 billion yuan on television and print advertising during the period, up 14.5 percent from a year earlier, the newspaper said citing media monitoring firm Nielsen.
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INSTRUMENT LAST PCT CHG NET CHG S&P 500 .SPX 942.46 1.15% 10.700 USD/JPY JPY= 96.62 0.02% 0.020 10-YR US TSY YLD US10YT=RR 3.4495 -- 0.000 SPOT GOLD XAU= 980.5 0.14% 1.400 US CRUDE CLc1 68.72 -0.13% -0.090 DOW JONES .DJI 8750.24 0.86% 74.96 ASIA ADRS .BKAS 112.30 1.29% 1.43 -------------------------------------------------------------
MARKETS SUMMARY *Oil hits 7-month high on hopes for econ recovery [nSIN371584] *Financials, surging commodities lift Wall Street [nN04244791] *Treasuries sag on stock gains; inflation worry curbs [nN04242634] *Euro rises on ECB rate view; US jobs data loom [nN04592674]
(Reporting by Parvathy Ullatil; Editing by Chris Lewis)
