HK shares seen easier on equity selldown fears

HONG KONG, Jan 9 (Reuters) - Hong Kong shares are expected to remain soft on Friday amid worries about the global economy ahead of key U.S. jobs data and fears of a further equity selldown weighed on banking stocks.

"The market will open slightly easier but short covering following drops in the last two days will limit the slide of the index," said Francis Lun, general manager from Fulbright Securities.

"Investors are seen to remain nervous because fears of further equity selldown will continue to haunt the market," Lun added.

The benchmark Hang Seng Index .HSI shed 3.8 percent on Thursday to end at 14,415.91.

STOCKS TO WATCH-

* Zijin Mining (2899.HK) said late on Thursday it planned to team with substantial shareholder Minxi Xinghang to form a joint venture to build a copper refinery in Shanghang in China's Fujian with a capacity of 200,000 tonnes per year with total investment amounting to 2.6 billion yuan. For statement please see here

* China Eastern Airlines (0670.HK) said it will seek approval at a shareholders' meeting on Feb. 26 on its plan to issue 1.44 billion A shares at 3.87 yuan each to CEA Holdings, raising 5.56 billion yuan for working capital. For statement please see here

* Sa Sa International (0178.HK) said its retail and wholesale business rose 10.2 percent year-on-year for the quarter ended in December, and it added 9 retail outlets to its network in the third quarter, including 3 stores in Hong Kong and Macau markets. Its retail network stood at 152 outlets as at the end of December. For statement please see here ----------------- MARKET SNAPSHOT @ 2326 GMT ------------------

INSTRUMENT LAST PCT CHG NET CHG S&P 500 .SPX 909.73 0.34% 3.080 USD/JPY JPY= 91.34 0.21% 0.190 10-YR US TSY YLD US10YT=RR 2.442 -- 0.000 SPOT GOLD XAU= $855.15 -0.11% -0.950 US CRUDE CLc1 $42.38 1.63% 0.680 DOW JONES .DJI 8742.46 -0.31% -27.24 ASIA ADRS .BKAS 96.85 -0.03% -0.03 ---------------------------------------------------------------> > Wall Street up on expected foreclosure deal; Dow off [.N] > Oil drops nearly $1 on economic gloom [O/R] > Dollar slumps ahead of key US payrolls report [USD/] > Bonds rise ahead of dreaded December jobs data [US/] > Gold ends higher, option trade seen bullish [GOL/] (US$1=HK$7.8)