Stock Talk | Market Opener: Property developers in focus as HK to limit foreign homebuyers from 2013

Hong Kong's property developers will be in focus Friday after the city announced its first step in a policy aimed at restricting foreign buyers from purchasing property.

Property stocks dipped in Thursday's trading ahead of the speech by Hong Kong chief executive Leung Chun-ying. The sector so far is the biggest gainer among the four sectors tracked by the benchmark Hang Seng Index.

Developers gained last week in what was partly seen as a relief rally after  Leung announced 10 new reforms  to curb the property market, which analysts and investors decided would have minimal impact on the broader property market because most of the measures focused on the public or subsidized housing market.

Overnight, US stocks gained sharply after the European Central Bank said it will roll out an unlimited bond purchase plan to lower  borrowing costs for debt-laden countries. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index gained 28 points, or two per cent, to end at 1,432, the highest level since the onset of the financial crisis. The Nasdaq Composite Index rose 66 points, or more than two per cent, to finish at 3,135.

In London, the FTSE-100 Index rose 2.1 per cent to end at 5,777. German's DAX rose 1.2 per cent to 7,167.