Stock Talk | Market Open:Hong Kong stocks seen higher on easing hopes after disappointing China PMI
Hong Kong stocks may open higher after a two-day National Holiday break on speculation that more easing measures could be in the pipeline to revive growth
Hong Kong stocks may open higher after a two-day National Holiday break on speculation that more easing measures could be in the pipeline to revive growth after an official survey of factory managers in China remained in negative territory for a second consecutive month.
China's official factory purchasing managers' index rose to 49.8 in September from 49.2 in August, the National Bureau of Statistics said on Monday. A figure below 50 denotes contraction.
"Market could get disappointed by the below-50 and below consensus 49.8 reading, but bad news from data side, especially on employment, could be good news for policies," Lu Ting, Bank of America Merrill Lynch China economist, wrote in an emailed note to clients.
Elsewhere, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke urged the government to act to support stronger economy growth and Australia's central bank cut interest rates by 25 basis points, with more cuts expected to follow. Spain's unemployment population grew by nearly half a million people in the year to September, government data showed on Tuesday.
Overnight, the Standard & Poor's 500-stock index closed up 1.26 points, or 0.09 per cent, to close at 1,445.75. The Nasdaq Composite added 6.51 points, or 0.21 per cent, to 3,120.04. In London, the FTSE-100 Index lost 11 points, or 0.19 per cent, to end at 5,809.45.
Hot Stocks of the Day:
SINO LAND (0083.HK), K. Wah International Holdings (0173.HK)
Sino Land won two plots through a tender on Friday: Tseung Kwan O Area 66C2 for HK$2.29 billion and a site in Peng Chau for HK$31 million. The Tseung Kwan O plot purchase was a 60-40 joint bid with K Wah International.
