HONG KONG, July 2 (Reuters) - Hong Kong shares are seen gaining on Thursday, helped by upbeat manufacturing data from China, Europe and the United States, but gains may be limited ahead of key payroll numbers from the U.S.
On Wednesday, China said its official purchasing managers' index (PMI) for June rose to 53.2 from 53.1 in May, above the watershed mark of 50 for a fourth month in a row, while brokerage CLSA's China PMI rose in June to an 11-month high.
But caution is likely to prevail ahead of all important June non-farm U.S. payroll data later on Thursday. The unemployment rate is expected to have crept up to 9.6 percent -- its highest since June 1983 -- from 9.4 percent in May.
Hong Kong's financial markets were closed on Wednesday on the anniversary of the territory's handover to China from Britain.
The benchmark Hang Seng Index finished 0.8 percent lower at 18,378.73 on Tuesday but soared 35.4 percent in the second quarter to mark its biggest quarterly gain in more than 15 years.
STOCKS TO WATCH- * KWG Property late on Wednesday said it would sell 300 million new shares, or 10.37 percent of its enlarged share capital, to its controlling shareholder at HK$5.10 each in a top-up placement, raising HK$1.5 billion to purchase land, fund construction projects and for working capital. The issue price represented an 8.6 percent discount to the closing price of HK$5.58 on June 29. The controlling shareholder's stake in the company will be diluted to 55.72 percent from 62.17 percent. Trading in the shares will resume on Thursday. For statement please click http://www.hkexnews.hk/listedco/listconews/sehk/20090701/LTN20090701004.pdf
* Aluminum Corp. of China Ltd on Wednesday said it planned to raise up to 10 billion yuan ($1.5 billion) in a private share placement to fund its alumina projects and supplement working capital. Chalco plans to place up to 1 billion yuan-denominated shares to institutions including mutual funds, securities houses, insurance firms and Qualified Foreign Institutional Investors.
* Chinese regulators have given Sichuan Expressway Co final approval to float shares in Shanghai in the mainland's first major IPO since last September, which will raise at least 1.4 billion yuan ($205 million).
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