HONG KONG, June 17 (Reuters) - Hong Kong shares may move lower for a third straight day on Wednesday after a batch of mixed U.S. economic data stoked further scepticism about an early recovery in the world's largest economy.
Commodity stocks, battered by weak oil and metal prices on Tuesday, are headed for another rocky session as crude oil fell for a fourth day to below $70 per barrel after industry data showed U.S. crude stocks dropped less than expected last week.
"The firm U.S. dollar is killing investor enthusiasm for stocks and commodities," said KGI Asia chief operating officer Ben Kwong.
"But investors are also quite aggressive and will start snapping up stocks as the market dips. So the main index should move between 17,800 and its 10-day moving average of 18,500 points," he said.
Wall Street shares fell on Tuesday after Best Buy Co Inc, the largest U.S. consumer electronics retailer posted weaker-than-expected sales in its first quarter and suggested earnings for the rest of the year would be worse than forecast.
Meanwhile, U.S. industrial production fell by more than forecast.
The benchmark Hang Seng Index fell 1.8 percent to 18,165.50 on Tuesday in a broad-based slump.
STOCKS TO WATCH
* Jewellery retailer Luk Fook Holdings said it would buy an 18-storey commerical buildings in Kowloon's Jordan Road as its office and to support its retail and wholesale operations for HK$254.35 million. For statement please click http://www.hkexnews.hk/listedco/listconews/sehk/20090616/LTN20090616426.pdf
* Dongfeng Motor Group, China's third-largest carmaker, late on Tuesday posted an unaudited profit of 851.23 million yuan ($124.6 million) for the first quarter of 2009 in accordance with Chinese accounting standard, but gave no comparison figures. It also said it had issued its first tranche of 2 billion yuan ($292.7 million) one-year short-term debentures to institutional investors in China, which will begin trading in China on June 17. For statement please click http://www.hkexnews.hk/listedco/listconews/sehk/20090616/LTN20090616237.pdf
* Credit Suisse and Morgan Stanley are selling down a combined 11.7 percent stake in China Resources Gas, a source told Reuters on Tuesday, in a move that could raise around $95 million.
The banks are each selling a 5.85 percent stake in the urban gas distributor, or 166 million shares, seeking between HK$4.30 and HK$4.60 per share, which represents a 26.6 percent discount to Tuesday's closing price.
-- Air China said passenger traffic was up 14.7 percent in May to 3.1 million passengers owing to a rise in domestic travel, which helped offset a 10 percent drop in international passenger traffic. It said its cargo volume fell 8.6 percent last month.
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INSTRUMENT LAST PCT CHG NET CHG
S&P 500 <.SPX> 946.21 0.14% 1.320
USD/JPY
MARKETS SUMMARY *Oil falls on stronger dollar, profit-taking [nLC158279] *Defensives lift Dow, S&P; tech weighs on Nasdaq [nN1284396] *Dollar rebounds broadly, weak data hurts euro [nN1269110] *Treasuries rise in post-auction relief trade [nN12447706] (Reporting by Parvathy Ullatil; Editing by Chris Lewis)