HONG KONG, June 17 (Reuters) - Hong Kong shares may move
lower for a third straight day on Wednesday after a batch of
mixed U.S. economic data stoked further scepticism about an early
recovery in the world's largest economy.
Commodity stocks, battered by weak oil and metal prices on
Tuesday, are headed for another rocky session as crude oil fell
for a fourth day to below $70 per barrel after industry data
showed U.S. crude stocks dropped less than expected last week.
"The firm U.S. dollar is killing investor enthusiasm for
stocks and commodities," said KGI Asia chief operating officer
Ben Kwong.
"But investors are also quite aggressive and will start
snapping up stocks as the market dips. So the main index should
move between 17,800 and its 10-day moving average of 18,500
points," he said.
Wall Street shares fell on Tuesday after Best Buy Co Inc
(BBY.N), the largest U.S. consumer electronics retailer posted
weaker-than-expected sales in its first quarter and suggested
earnings for the rest of the year would be worse than forecast.
Meanwhile, U.S. industrial production fell by more than
forecast. [ID:nN16302759]
The benchmark Hang Seng Index .HSI fell 1.8 percent to
18,165.50 on Tuesday in a broad-based slump.
STOCKS TO WATCH
* Jewellery retailer Luk Fook Holdings (0590.HK) said it
would buy an 18-storey commerical buildings in Kowloon's Jordan
Road as its office and to support its retail and wholesale
operations for HK$254.35 million. For statement please click
here
* Dongfeng Motor Group (0489.HK), China's third-largest
carmaker, late on Tuesday posted an unaudited profit of 851.23
million yuan ($124.6 million) for the first quarter of 2009 in
accordance with Chinese accounting standard, but gave no
comparison figures. It also said it had issued its first tranche
of 2 billion yuan ($292.7 million) one-year short-term debentures
to institutional investors in China, which will begin trading in
China on June 17. For statement please click
here
* Credit Suisse (CSGN.VX) and Morgan Stanley (MS.N) are
selling down a combined 11.7 percent stake in China Resources Gas
(1193.HK), a source told Reuters on Tuesday, in a move that could
raise around $95 million.
The banks are each selling a 5.85 percent stake in the urban
gas distributor, or 166 million shares, seeking between HK$4.30
and HK$4.60 per share, which represents a 26.6 percent discount
to Tuesday's closing price.
-- Air China (601111.SS) (0753.HK) said passenger traffic was
up 14.7 percent in May to 3.1 million passengers owing to a rise
in domestic travel, which helped offset a 10 percent drop in
international passenger traffic. It said its cargo volume fell
8.6 percent last month.
----------------------MARKET SNAPSHOT @ 2243 GMT ------------
INSTRUMENT LAST PCT CHG NET CHG
S&P 500 .SPX 946.21 0.14% 1.320
USD/JPY JPY= 98.42 -0% 0.000
10-YR US TSY YLD US10YT=RR 3.7916 -- 0.000
SPOT GOLD XAU= 934.9 -0.32% -3.000
US CRUDE CLc1 72 -0.06% -0.060
DOW JONES .DJI 8799.26 0.32% 28.34
ASIA ADRS .BKAS 114.03 -1.25% -1.44
-------------------------------------------------------------
MARKETS SUMMARY
*Oil falls on stronger dollar, profit-taking [nLC158279]
*Defensives lift Dow, S&P; tech weighs on Nasdaq [nN1284396]
*Dollar rebounds broadly, weak data hurts euro [nN1269110]
*Treasuries rise in post-auction relief trade [nN12447706]
(Reporting by Parvathy Ullatil; Editing by Chris Lewis)
