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Strategies & Market Trends : Telebras (TBH) & Brazil -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: EPS who wrote (6504)	8/13/1998 3:18:00 AM
From: EPS	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 22640

(**At 3:00 am HK is down 3%, China Up 1%, Japan marginally higher, France down fractionally, Germany down 1% (Germany has a larger exposure to Rusia..), rest of Asia down. Yen is @ 146.7) ==================================== Thursday August 13, 1:50 am Eastern Time HK stocks end morning sharply lower, hit by HSBC HONG KONG, Aug 13 (Reuters) - Hong Kong stocks ended the Thursday morning session at their lowest levels in more than five years as HSBC Holdings (0005.HK) plummeted on active selling by foreign investors, brokers said. The blue chip Hang Seng Index dived 274.24 points, or 4.00 percent, to finish the midsession at 6,585.24. It had fallen to a session low of 6,581.44, the lowest since April 13, 1993, when it hit 6,286.67. ''Obviously selling orders are focused on HSBC Holdings, which has been downgraded or reweighted by many analysts since the announcement of its interim results earlier this month,'' said Tony Yung, research director at Tai Fook Securities Co Ltd. HSBC Holdings lost HK$8.00 to HK$149.00. Shares of the banking giant have fallen HK$40, or 21 percent, this month. It reported a 14 percent drop in its interim pretax profits on August 3. Yung said Tai Fook saw HSBC Holdings falling to HK$140.00, but some analysts in other brokerages put their targets at about HK$120.00. Concerns about renewed weakness of the Japanese yen and higher Hong Kong interest rates undermined sentiment and fuelled selling of index heavyweight stocks and index futures, brokers said. The yen was at 146.85/95 to the U.S. dollar in afternoon trading compared to 146.15/25 in late New York trade overnight. August Hang Seng Index futures lost 295 points at 6,545 and September contracts fell 220 to 6,640 points. ''It seems that a renewed round of selling off has started and the market is still finding its bottom for the near term,'' Yung said. Market turnover was HK$3.11 billion compared to HK$3.53 billion at Wednesday's midsession close. Investors were cautious ahead of the long weekend as there were talks that speculators might use the holiday on Monday to attack against the Hong Kong dollar, brokers said. ''There is pressure (on the Hong Kong dollar) and there is no reason to buy the market or the major stocks,'' said Stephen Brown, head of research at Kim Eng Securities. The Hong Kong dollar stood at HK$7.7490/00 to the U.S. dollar and the overnight interbank rate rose to 7.50-8.25 percent at midday from its Wednesday close of 6.50-7.00. Hongkong Electric (0006.HK) lost HK$0.90 to HK$20.80 ahead of its interim results later on Thursday. Analysts expect the company to post flat growth in profit for the first six months of 1998 with consensus forecast ranging from HK$1.95 billion to HK$2.05 billion compared to HK$2.09 billion a year earlier. China plays, depressed by floods in China and the nation's slower economic growth, finished the morning mostly lower. The red chip Hang Seng China-Affiliated Corporations Index eased 14.80 points, or 2.49 percent, to 579.75 points and the Hang Seng Chinese Enterprises Index of H-shares lost 2.70 points, or 0.98 percent, at 272.64 points. -- Alison Leung (852) 2843 6369; Fax (852) 2845 0636 -- Email: hongkong.newsroom@reuters.com

To: EPS who wrote (6504)	8/13/1998 3:28:00 AM
From: EPS	Respond to of 22640

Agencia Estado: Market Status at 06h15 pm ET Brazilian equity markets continued their downward ride today. Sao Paulo Stock Exchange (Bovespa) has already fallen 21.39% in the month. However, today's plunge cannot be blamed on the DJIA's performance, which closed out the day higher at 8,552 points. Such positive performance could not be followed by local bourses, which lacked liquidity and were plentiful of uncertainties as a result of the renewed slump registered by Brazilian Bradys and Globals. According to Dow Jones Newswires, the emerging debt market was mostly affected by the decision of Russia's State Duma lower house of parliament to postpone its emergency session, in which it would discuss new economic measures considered fundamental to the country's accord with the IMF. As a result, Russia's Principals fell 9% and Brazil's C-Bond receded 4.62%. Market analysts said that yesterday's perception that local stock exchanges were regaining their attractiveness, was washed away by today's events. They added that traders are "hurt and losing hope". "Traders are now eyeing the US T-Bond, which, although considered a lackluster investment, it is certainly the safest available," an analyst said. The Ibovespa finished down 4.37% at 8,417 points (Ibovespa/US$ finished down by 4.45% at 2,616 points). Trading volume was at US$701.514bn with some 32.097bn shares having changed hands. The Rio de Janeiro Stock Exchange Index (IBV-RJ) closed down 3.58% at 30,380 points (IBV/US$ closed down 3.67% at 9,442 points). Among the blue chips, Telebr s PN/US$ ended down 3.67%. Eletrobr s ended lower by 10.28%. Petrobras PN/US$ ended down 2.86%. Usiminas finished lower by 9.70%. CSN ended down 14.42%. Pressured by the latest events in the international front, the forex market registered new hikes in both spot and dollar futures quotations. The market's negative reaction surprised traders who were expecting to have another calm day, since they consensually believed Banco do Brasil, on behalf of the Central Bank, had, yesterday, flooded the market with dollars in order to guarantee enough liquidity as a means of restraining any eventual rise in quotations. However, traders were not prepared for another bad day in the emerging debt market and the new C-Bond plunge. Japan was also to blame for the nervousness invading the market by contributing with scary oscillations -- touching Y147.42 against the dollar -- before Japanese authorities had signaled with the possibility of another intervention in the country's currency. As nothing was confirmed, the yen closed at Y145 against the dollar. Traders said today's uneasiness began with the early events in Asia, but it was hardened by yesterday's deficit. They say the market should post another deficit today, as at roughly 4 p.m. ET the flow of foreign currency was negative at US$133m. In the trade account, exports were totaling US$146m above imports at US$136m. Financial inflow was at US$130m against an outflow of 273m. In the morning, the Central Bank announced it conducted the third inner-band adjustment of the month of 0.09%, allowing the real to range between R$1.1660 (floor) and R$1.1750 (ceiling). The US commercial dollar Ptax is currently trading at R$1.1707/R$1.1706. At the Futures and Commodities Exchange (BM&F), September contracts rose 0.01% to R$1.17340. October contracts finished up 0.03%, quoted at R$1.18350. The floating dollar was quoted at R$1.1754, up 0.04%, offering a premium of 0.46%. The black market dollar finished up 0.08% at R$1.223, offering a premium of 4.53%. The US commercial dollar Ptax ended at R$1.1713/R$1.1710 from R$1.1689/R$1.1681 registered last Tuesday.

To: EPS who wrote (6504)	8/13/1998 3:31:00 AM
From: EPS	Respond to of 22640

Real not to face crisis in near future, says Brady Sao Paulo, 12 - Former US Treasury secretary, Nicholas Brady, said today that the Brazilian currency, the real, is definitely not in the imminence of a crisis. After praising the performance of president Fernando Henrique Cardoso's administration, Brady warned that privatizing public companies is not enough to curb the problem. "Brazil's fiscal imbalance demand long-lasting solutions," he said. According to Brady, the fall in emerging debt prices is a result of a correction, which may be followed by another. However, he pointed out that the same way investors withdraw their money from emerging countries' Bradys, they may as well return to them. Brady -- currently the vice-chairman of Choice Atlantica Hotels, the franchiser of Choice Hot‚is do Brasil hotel chain -- is visiting Brazil to talk about the region's potential of luring new investments. His company, Darby Overseas Investments, rus two investment funds: one aimed at Latin America and the other at emerging markets as a whole. Darby Overseas Investments was founded at the end of 1994 and is currently at the final stages of creating a third fund of US$500m directed to the infrastructure sector. The new fund is to receive an investment totaling US$75m from the Inter-American Development Bank (BID). (By Rita Tavares)