Tuesday January 5, 8:43 pm Eastern Time
(Note: this article is ''in progress''; there will likely be an update soon.)
HK stocks seen firmer on Wall Street, rate hopes
HONG KONG, Jan 6 (Reuters) - Hong Komg stocks were expected to open firmer on Wednesday after an overnight surge on Wall Street and on hopes that local banks may cut interest rates soon.
But brokers said sentiment remained soft.
''The market may open up after Wall Street closed higher and on steadier Tokyo stocks,'' said Andrew To, sales director at Tai Fook Securities.
The Dow industrials rose 126.92 points, or 1.38 percent, to close at 9,311.19 on Tuesday.
Hopes of an interest rate cut triggered a technical rebound in Hong Kong stocks Tuesday and lifted the Hang Seng Index up 81.89 points, or 0.83 percent, to 9,891.06.
But To said the rebound allowed the market to recover just one third of its losses on Monday which meant sentiment remained weak.
The Hang Seng Index was expected to move between 9,800 and 10,000 points on Wednesday, said Alan Pau, associate director at South China Securities.
''Property stocks are seen firmer on anticipation that lower interest rates should help ease the financial burden of home buyers,'' he said.
Both To and Pau expected Hong Kong banks to lower interest rates in January amid sliding interbank rates.
Hong Kong's three month interbank rate eased to 4.63-5.13 percent in early trade compared to Tuesday's opening level of 4.87-5.37 percent.
|
