Market Open:Hong Kong stocks seen flat after touching 16-month high

Hong Kong stocks may see some mild consolidation on Thursday after rising to the highest level since last August, yet any likely gains in the onshore market later in the day may offer support for the index to stay firm above the 22,000-point level.

Fund managers are expecting a recovery in the China share market, after it fell to a nearly four-year low on Monday. Goldman Sachs tips the CSI 300 index to rise by 26 per cent by the end of 2013.

Overnight, the Standard & Poor's 500-stock index added 2.23 points, or 0.16 per cent, to close at 1,409.28. The Nasdaq Composite lost 23 points, or 0.77 per cent, to finish at 2,973.70. In London, the FTSE-100 Index added 23.04 points, or 0.39 per cent, to end at 5,892.08.

Hot Stocks of the Day:

FANTASIA (1777.HK)
The property developer said January-November contracted sales totalled 7.17 billion yuan, already nearly reaching the full-year sales target of 7.2 billion yuan.

AIA (1299.HK)
Mount Swettenham Investments is selling 92.35 million AIA shares in a price range of HK$29.84-HK$30.20 each, representing a discount of zero to 1.2 per cent to Wednesday's close.

Shanghai Electric Group (2727.HK)
The company said its application for issuing no more than 4 billion yuan worth of bonds has been approved by the Chinese regulator.