Hong Kong stocks are expected to rise today on the back of Wall Street and Asian market rallies racked up during the SAR's long public holiday. The Hang Seng Index rose 1.19 per cent to 11,072.98 points last Thursday. 'We closed off on a good note and it looks like we'll continue,' South China Securities vice-chairman Howard Gorges said. 'The backdrop of other markets that could influence us is at the moment very favourable.' The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.77 per cent on Monday to close at 10,007.33 points, spurring rallies in Singapore, South Korea, Australia and other regional markets. On Monday, the Bank of Japan's quarterly survey showed a slight improvement in the country's business sentiment in the first quarter. Vickers Ballas research head Andrew Fernow said the survey was further proof that Japan's economy was heading towards recovery. 'Hong Kong has been following Japan very closely, especially the improvement in economic indicators and sentiment. With the Nikkei-225 Index still rising, there may be some mild positive impact [on the Hang Seng Index],' he said. The market will closely watch the visit of Premier Zhu Rongji to the United States, which began yesterday, but punters could maintain a wait-and-see stance until the trip's conclusion. 'The rally is still somewhat suspicious and I think the Zhu Rongji trip will have to conclude before people get excited about the effect it will have on China's and Hong Kong's economy,' Mr Fernow said. Further strong property sales are also seen providing incentives for stocks to rise. On Friday, Cheung Kong said almost all units on offer at the Laguna Verde development had been sold. 'We expect to see more sales activity, which will underpin the trend in property prices which has been rather stable,' Mr Fernow said.
