HSI Seen Sliding to Below 12,800, Led by Properties, Telecoms
Mar 22, 2001 - 09:45:59 HKT
Quamnet News Service
Hong Kong stocks are expected to test lower levels today after the overnight declines in Wall Street. Investors will also wait and see before heavyweight blue chips Cheung Kong Holdings Ltd. (0001) and Hutchison Whampoa Ltd. (0013), both owned by tycoon Li Ka-shing, announce their full-year earnings results later today.
"Though the HSI ended yesterday above 13,000, the 200-week moving average, it is likely to stage another fall today as U.S. stocks were volatile overnight," said Caster Pang, assistant manager of Tingkong-RexCapital Securities International Ltd. "The question is not whether the Fed will cut interest rates again soon, but whether the HSI can stand above the 13,000 level. People should be careful because institutional investors may pull down the index to below the 12,800 level. Put options would be a better dish for the time being."
Properties and telecoms will come under the biggest pressure today, while banks will be relatively stable because the sector has tumbled for some time already, he said.
The benchmark Hang Seng Index will move in the 12,700 to 13,000 range today, he added.
The HSI closed yesterday down 69.42 points, or 0.52 percent, at 13,154.44 on turnover of HK$8.43 billion.
In the U.S. overnight, stocks fell on concerns that corporate profits will not rebound soon. The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended at 233.76, or 2.4 percent, to 9487.00, its lowest close since March 4, 1999. The Nasdaq Composite Index slid 27.21, or 1.5 percent, to 1830.23. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index dropped 20.48, or 1.8 percent, to 1122.14.
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