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To: Steve Fancy who wrote (6364)	8/6/1998 5:55:00 AM
From: Oracle	Respond to of 22640

What effect do you feel this will have on the market if true ?

To: Steve Fancy who wrote (6364)	8/6/1998 6:34:00 AM
From: EPS	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 22640

Thursday August 6, 5:20 am Eastern Time HK stocks end at lowest since Jan 95 as rates rise HONG KONG, Aug 6 (Reuters) - Hong Kong stocks fell sharply on Thursday to finish the day at their lowest close since January 1995, under pressure from higher local interbank rates, a weaker yen and poor corporate results, analysts said. The Hang Seng Index fell 212.07 points, or 2.84 percent, to close at 7,254.36. It was the lowest close since January 25, 1995, when the index ended at 7,240.72. Turnover was HK$4.74 billion, down from HK$4.95 billion at Wednesday's close. ''The higher interbank rates and the weakening yen were the major negative factors on the Hong Kong market,'' said Alex Wong, research manager at OSK Asia Securities. ''Market sentiment is still quite cautious.'' The three-month Hong Kong interbank rate closed at 10.30-10.87 percent against 10.50-11.00 percent at midday and Wednesday's close of 10.30-10.75 percent. ''There is a lot of speculation on the Hong Kong dollar, and that is driving the market down,'' said Stanley Ng, research manager at Mansion House Research. Short sales against the Hong Kong dollar since Wednesday were substantial, amounting to billions of U.S. dollars, dealers said. The yen eased to near 145 against the U.S. dollar in late Tokyo trade on renewed concerns over the Japanese banking sector and the stability of Asian currencies. Poor first-half earnings results released by Swire Pacific Ltd (0019.HK) after the morning session also dampened sentiment, analysts said. The conglomerate reported a 39.5 percent drop in interim net profit to HK$2.01 billion from HK$3.32 billion in the same period last year. Swire stock fell HK$1.25, or 4.87 percent, to close at HK$24.40. ''Swire's results were quite poor, and that weighed a little on the market,'' Wong said. Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd (0293.HK) shares lost HK$0.25 to close at HK$5.60. The airline, which is 45.11 percent owned by Swire, reported on Wednesday a HK$175 million loss in the first six months of 1998 versus a profit of HK$1.07 billion a year earlier. Other blue chips were mostly lower, with HSBC Holdings (0005.HK) falling HK$3.50 to HK$168.00 and Hutchison (0013.HK) down HK$2.10 at HK$33.40. China plays continued their weak performance, with investors still wary about the Chinese economy and a possible devaluation of the yuan under renewed pressure from the yen, analysts said. The red chip Hang Seng China-Affiliated Corporations Index slid 24.24 points, or 3.67 percent, to finish at 636.79. The H-share index dropped 13.31 points, or 4.18 percent, to 305.37. ''China's B-shares staged a very big rebound, but there was not much buying interest here,'' said Wong. China Telecom (0941.HK) rose HK$0.15, or 1.52 percent, to HK$10.00. It was largely a technical rebound after being oversold in the past two days, analysts said. ''The market is mainly concerned about the renminbi devaluation, the yen and the Hong Kong dollar,'' Ng said. August index futures dived 305 points to close at 7,200, a 54-point discount to the spot index. September contracts lost 260 points at 7,250. * Reuters Terminal users can see related news by double clicking on: (HK) (STX) * For index, major highlights double click on: (HK/MENU) HK stocks menu (0#.INX.HK) All Hang Seng indices (^HSI - news) Hang Seng index (0#.HSI) Hang Seng index components (^HSCC - news) Red-chips index (0#.HSCC) Red-chips index components (^HSCE - news) H-shares index (0#.HSCE) H-shares index components (.AV.HK) Top 20 by volume (.AM.HK) Top 20 by turnover (.NG.HK) Net gain leaders (.PG.HK) Percentage gain leaders (.NL.HK) Net loss leaders (.PL.HK) Percentage loss leaders (0#HSI:) Hang Seng index futures (HFE/FUTEX1) Futures contracts prices and contract details (HKG/OPTEX1) Options contracts prices and contract details (HK/HOT) HK Hot Stocks Highlights (SZ/MENU) Shenzhen stocks menu (SS/MENU) Shanghai stocks menu