Hang Seng counts down to upbeat start
HK stocks expected to open higher on hopeful signals from the US and the mainland
Hong Kong stocks are expected to rise when the market opens today for the first time this year, following the fiscal cliff deal in the US Senate and new signs that manufacturing is picking up on the mainland.
Eugene Law, an analyst at brokerage China Galaxy International, expects a "meaningful surge" in the city's blue chips as the deal, which removes some uncertainties in the United States economy, will add to the optimism over the global economy this year.
Citing the so-called New Year effect, Law noted that the Hang Seng Index had risen on the first trading day of the last two years - 2.4 per cent in 2012 and 1.7 per cent the year before.
In 2010, however, the index dropped by 0.2 per cent.
Echoing the upbeat projection, Francis Kwok Sze-chi, an executive director at Bright Smart Securities & Commodities, said Hong Kong and other regional markets were likely to open higher as the US market saw a meaningful rebound before the holidays, snapping five consecutive sessions of declines.
"The S&P index rose 13 per cent in 2012, the best annual performance since 2009," Kwok said. "Unlike previous years, US trading volume has been high."