Hong Kong Stocks Slip on Speculation China Keeps Property Curbs
2012-03-15 02:53:40.305 GMT
By Jason Clenfield
March 15 (Bloomberg) -- Hong Kong stocks dropped, with the benchmark index headed for a second straight daily loss, as developers fell amid speculation China will keep property controls in place. Tencent Holdings Ltd. advanced after the mainland’s biggest Internet company said profit rose. Country Garden Holdings Co. led shares of builders and real-estate companies lower after Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said yesterday home prices are still too high. Cnooc Ltd., China’s largest offshore energy explorer, fell 2.2 percent as crude oil traded near a one-week low. Tencent rose 2.7 percent after saying revenue from online games and social-networking services boosted profit in the fourth quarter.
The Hang Seng Index dropped 0.2 percent to 21,267.42 as of 10:46 a.m. in Hong Kong on volume that was about 7 percent below the 30-day average. The gauge has advanced 15 percent this year amid signs the U.S. economy is strengthening and on speculation China will continue to ease limits on lending. The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index of mainland companies, also known as the H-share index, slipped 0.7 percent to 11,218.16.
“China will continue to tighten policy because property prices are still way beyond the reach of average people, and that breeds resentment,” said Francis Lun, managing director at Lyncean Holdings Ltd. in Hong Kong. “We’re looking forward to a big correction. The rally is based on the unfounded expectation that Wen will somehow relax monetary policy.”
Futures on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index rose 0.1 percent today. The gauge lost 0.1 percent in New York yesterday, snapping a five-day advance that drove it to the highest level since June 2008.
Mainland Chinese real-estate companies dropped for second after Wen said home prices are still far from reasonable after two years of property controls. The government wants to ensure long-term, stable growth in the property market, he said yesterday at the end of the annual National People’s Congress.
Futures on the Hang Seng expiring this month rose 0.1 percent to 21,313. The HSI Volatility Index eased 1.1 percent to 20.98 indicating options traders expect a swing of 6 percent in the benchmark index over the next 30 days.
Shares ease on China growth worry, dollar stays firm
TOKYO, March 15 (Reuters) - Asian shares eased on renewed concerns about Chinese growth, but a brighter global economic outlook underpinned the dollar and kept investor risk appetite intact, reducing the appeal of safe-haven government debts.
"The market is reviewing its view on the U.S. economy and scaling back expectations for further U.S. monetary easing or the risk that the U.S. economy will be doing poorly this year," Makoto Noji, senior strategist at SMBC Nikko Securities.
U.S. soy extends gains as drought hurts S.American crop
SYDNEY, March 15 (Reuters) - U.S. soy futures rose early , extending gains from the previous session when it hit a 5-1/2 month top, on hopes demand would be boosted due to a drought in South America and a port congestion in Argentina.
Better-than-expected demand from U.S. soy processors last month also added support as NOPA pegged the February crush at 136.350 million bushels, below 142.813 million in January but above an average of analysts' estimates for 134.5 million bushels.
Agroconsult cuts 3 mln T from Brazil soy crop view
SAO PAULO, March 14 (Reuters) - Drought over Brazil's southern soy growing states prompted analysts Agroconsult on Wednesday to strike 2.8 million tonnes from its forecast of the 2011/12 crop to 67.1 million tonnes from 69.9 million previously.
Agroconsult is the latest in a series of government and independent analysts who have pared back their estimates of this year's crop.
IGC sees global maize deficit in 2012/13
LONDON, March 14 (Reuters) - World maize production should climb in 2012/13 but is likely to remain below consumption as demand for meat boosts feed use, International Grains Council senior economist Amy Reynolds said on Wednesday.
Reynolds, in a presentation at the Agra Europe outlook conference, put the 2012/13 global maize crop at 880 million tonnes, up from 864 million in the prior season.
Ukraine starts 2012 spring sowing
KIEV, March 14 (Reuters) - Farms in Ukraine's southern Crimea region have started the 2012 spring field works, sowing the first 400 hectares of early grains, the UkrAgroConsult agriculture consultancy said on Wednesday.
Last year, Crimean farms started spring sowing on March 10. Ukraine's Farm Minister Mykola Prysyazhnyuk said this week that frosts across most of the country had delayed the sowing.
Burundi sees 2012/13 coffee output jumping 107 pct
BUJUMBURA, March 14 (Reuters) - Burundi predicts coffee output for the 2012/13 season will jump by 107 percent compared with the previous season, following the cyclical nature of the crop and good rains, the country's industry regulator said on Wednesday.
Production for the coffee year (April 1-March 31) would reach 29,000 tonnes against 14,000 tonnes produced in the 2011/12 crop.
U.S. crude prices strengthen on economic optimism
PERTH, March 15 (Reuters) - U.S. oil futures inched up in Asian trading as strong U.S. economic data, signalling a recovery in the world's largest economy and supply worries spurred by tensions over Iran's nuclear programme supported oil prices.
"I am still bullish about the oil price in the short-to-medium term with demand likely to be strong due to recent reports of strong U.S. employment and retail sales data. Supply issues from Iran are also still lingering," Miguel Audencial, a trader with CMC Markets in Sydney, said.
Obama, UK's Cameron discussed tapping oil reserves-sources
WASHINGTON, March 14 (Reuters) - President Barack Obama and British Prime Minister David Cameron discussed the possibility of releasing emergency oil reserves during a meeting on Wednesday, two sources familiar with the talks said, the first sign that Obama is starting to test global support for an effort to knock back near-record fuel prices.
Obama raised the issue during a broad bilateral meeting at the White House, according to a UK official with knowledge of the discussion.
Iron ore meet to focus on rising output as China cools
SYDNEY, March 14 (Reuters) - An unrelenting rise in iron ore output by the world's biggest producers as top consumer China looks to curb economic growth and its impact on global supply and prices, will be in focus at an industry conference next week.
Rio Tinto , BHP Billiton , AngloAmerican and other companies gathering at the Global Iron & Steel Forecast Conference in Perth will outline plans to ramp up iron ore capacity for much of this decade in hopes China will continue to buy just about all they can mine.
Copper drops as firm dollar, China demand worries weigh
SINGAPORE, March 15 (Reuters) - Copper edged down, extending losses from the previous session due to a firmer dollar and lingering concerns of a slow demand recovery in China, the world's top consumer of the metal.
"Any positive headline on the macroeconomy bodes well for copper but eventually the market needs to heed the fundamentals. For copper, that is Chinese demand," said Zhu Bin, an analyst at Nanhua Futures in the eastern Chinese city of Hangzhou.
Gold bounces after 2 pct drop,U.S. dollar eyed
SINGAPORE, March 15 (Reuters) - Gold regained some strength after a drop in the previous session attracted bargain hunters, but a strong dollar and fading expectations of more monetary easing in the United States made the metal vulnerable to more selling.
"Sentiment is of course very bad, I can say. After slipping below $1,650, it may go down further to $1,600," said Ronald Leung, director of Lee Cheong Gold Dealers in Hong Kong, adding that a rebound will be capped at $1,675 to $1,680.
Zimbabwe gold production off to slow start in 2012
HARARE, March 14 (Reuters) - Zimbabwe's monthly gold production has fallen short of the targeted 1,100 kilogrammes since the start of 2012, according to figures published by the finance ministry on Wednesday, throwing into doubt a projected annual output of 13 tonnes for the year.
The southern African country's gold mining sector is recovering from an economic crisis which peaked in 2008 as hyperinflation reached 500 billion percent and forced most mines to close.
METALS-Copper drops as firm dollar, China demand worries weigh
SINGAPORE, March 15 (Reuters) - Copper edged down on Thursday, extending losses from the previous session due to a firmer dollar and lingering concerns of a slow demand recovery in China, the world's top consumer of the metal.
The dollar rose to its highest in nearly two months against a basket of currencies, weighing on commodities priced in the greenback by decreasing the purchasing power of investors holding other currencies.
PRECIOUS-Gold bounces after 2 pct drop,U.S. dollar eyed
SINGAPORE, March 15 (Reuters) - Gold regained some strength on Thursday after a drop in the previous session attracted bargain hunters, but a strong dollar and fading expectations of more monetary easing in the United States made the metal vulnerable to more selling.
The physical market lacked activity as jewellers looked for a bargain, while bullion holders shifted their money into equities after strong U.S. economic data and accommodative monetary policies by global central banks sent investors back into risk assets.
FOREX-Dollar powers ahead on U.S. economic optimism, higher yields
TOKYO, March 15 (Reuters) - The dollar hit a fresh 11-month high against the yen and a one-month peak against the euro in Asia on Thursday, supported by growing optimism on the U.S. economic recovery and subsequent rises in U.S. bond yields.
The dollar's strength came as other currencies suffer their own problems, with the euro shackled by worries over debt, the yen hampered by speculation of more easing by the Bank of Japan and the Aussie dollar hurt by worries about growth in China.
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