Monday, January 22 8:37 AM SGT MARKET TALK-HK: Short-Selling Up 154% On PCCW
0837 [Dow Jones] Short-selling turnover up 154% at $465 million Friday; number of stocks shorted rose to 28 from 24. Likely due to their heavy recent gains, telcos by far most heavily shorted; Pacific Century CyberWorks (0008) had $103 million worth of shares shorted and China Mobile (0941) had $71.8 million. Other active counters also strong gainers last week, suggesting market may have topped; Swire Pacific A (0019) had $56.2 million and Hutchison Whampoa (0013) had $53.8 million.(IVW)
0830 [Dow Jones] Completion of Pacific Century CyberWorks' (0008) US$4.70 billion three-tranche term loan and US$1.5 billion loan with Australian partner Telstra, with interest spread within analysts' forecasted range, unlikely to impact shares given long expected. Closing loan facility allows PCCW to repay US$9 billion loan it took to buy C&W HKT last year. Traders expect shares to remain range bound today after posting huge 19% rise in past two sessions on talk C&W PLC will dispose half its 15.3% stake in PCCW to a strategic investor; also say investors likely sidelined before Lunar New Year holidays which begin Wednesday; shares rose 8.9% to $4.625 last Friday.(STT)
0825 [Dow Jones] CLSA Emerging Markets gazing into future of Richard Li, young tycoon with whom fortunes of Pacifc Century CyberWworks (0008) and Singapore-listed parent PCRD closely knitted; says in Feng Shui Index Report that Li, born a horse, still has some unavoidable problems to sort out in Year of Snake after exciting Dragon Year. CLSA confident Li can find partner to quench PCCW's financial thirst and conclude substantial transactions in September when "the Horse's luck index will reach its peak".(GEY)
0819 [Dow Jones] HK SHARES FRIDAY: Shares closed higher in quiet London trading; U.K.-based HSI up 11.5 at 15945. HSBC (0005) rose to $115.75 in London, after closing at $116 in HK; Hutchison (0013) ended up $1 at $105; SmarTone (0315) flat at $13.72; Cheung Kong (0001) also flat at $105; Sung Hung Kai Properties (0016) unchanged at $84. In New York, ADRs mostly rose; China Mobile (0941) up 1.2% at US$31.44 (equivalent to $49.04); China Unicom (0762) flat at US$17 (equivalent to $13.26); HSBC up 2.5% at US$76.88 (equivalent to $119.92); Cheung Kong flat at US$13.25 (equivalent to $103.34); Hutchison up 4.3% at US$67 (equivalent to $104.51); Pacific Century CyberWorks (0008) up 7.7% at US$6.13 (equivalent to $4.78); Sinopec (0386) up 1.7% at US$15.19 (equivalent to $1.18).(SMG,IVW)
0810 [Dow Jones] WALL STREET: Mixed showing Friday with economically-sensitive issues losing ground but select high-techs rising on profit optimism; Microsoft up 10% at $61 after coming through late Thursday with 2Q results that matched expectations; IBM stitched together little rally, up 3% after rising 12% Thursday on earnings statement. Nasdaq edged up 0.07%: some bellwethers didn't gain, with Sun Microsystems easing after posting 2Q results late Thursday that missed targets. "The environment remains tentative," says Richard Cripps, market strategist at Legg Mason. "We still don't have the firm fundamentals it is going to take to ignite this market." DJIA lost 0.9%, and would have fallen further if not for IBM and Microsoft; commodities and manufacturing stocks fell as investors traded out of cyclicals. DJIA also hampered by weakness in Home Depot, after it warned earnings wouldn't meet expectations.(RXM)
0800 [Dow Jones] OUTLOOK: 1415 New World Development (0017), Henderson Land (0012) and Hopewell Slipform Engineering joint media conference on their construction operations;
1630 HK Monetary Authority media conference on annual review of banking sector;
December CPI data due for release.(STT)
[Questions and comments please to Stephanie Tam at (852) 2832-2346 or stephanie.tam@dowjones.com. Currency amounts are in Hong Kong dollars and time is local Hong Kong time.]
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