HONG KONG, March 23 (Reuters) - Hong Kong stocks are expected to fall on Wednesday, with turnover remaining relatively light following weak overseas markets and with earnings from large caps doing little to encourage investors back into the markets.
On Tuesday, the benchmark Hang Seng Index rose 0.8 percent to 22,857.9. Gains in the heavyweight oil and banking counters helped the index hold above its 200-day moving average, currently at 22,387.1 and seen as a strong near-term support.
Stocks on Wall Street fell in tepid trading volume amid rising oil prices as fighting in Libya and unrest in Yemen dragged on.
In Hong Kong, market volatility has fallen after last week's sharp rise because of events in Japan, with a number of investors remaining on the sidelines ahead of earnings numbers from China's big banks.
Annual results from large caps have remained mixed, giving investors little reason to buy into last week's fall. According to Thomson Reuters Starmine, about half the companies on the Hang Seng Index have reported, with only 41 percent of those beating or meeting expectations.
Coal stocks will be in focus after China Coal reported 2010 results that came in about 26 percent below market forecasts.
Bank of China , expected to report on Friday, will kick off earnings for the heavyweight banking sector, which could give a leg up to the markets.
Elsewhere in Asia, Japan's Nikkei was down 1.7 percent while South Korea's KOSPI was 0.1 percent lower as of 0040 GMT.
STOCKS TO WATCH:
* Chinese banks are expected to be a focus as China's central bank plans to increase yuan clearing interest rates in Hong Kong to boost the development of the territory's yuan offshore market, sending yields briefly higher, according to sources. * China Life , the world's biggest life insurer, posted an expected 8 percent fall in fourth-quarter net profit as a stock market slump forced the company to write down the value of its securities holding. * Guangzhou Automobile Group Co Ltd , China's No.6 domestic automaker, said it plans to list on the Shanghai stock exchange through a 5.23 billion yuan ($766 million) merger with GAC Changfeng Motor Co Ltd . * The chairman of Sinopec Corp has been appointed acting governor of China's Fujian province, sources told Reuters, confirming earlier market talk that Su may exit the top Asian refiner to blaze a political trail. * Regulators have yet to approve Cheung Kong (Holdings) Ltd's $1 billion yuan-denominated real estate investment trust IPO, sources said, potentially derailing the company's target for a mid-April launch. * China Huiyuan Juice Group Ltd , the country's largest fruit juice producer and once a takeover target of Coca-Cola , expects its new product of sparkling fruit juice to account for about one fifth of its sales by the end of 2012, and is under no pressure to lift prices of its other products. * China Mobile , China's largest mobile carrier, said its total mobile subscribers in February rose to 594.9 million, including 24.5 million 3G subscribers. * Hong Kong's dominant fixed-line telephone operator PCCW Ltd posted 27.9 percent rise in 2010 profit to HK$1.93 billion, beating forecast. MARKET SUMMARY *Wall St slips after 3-day run; volume at 2011 low *Fund managers neutral-to=bearish on Treasuries *Euro falls from 4-1/2-month high;yen in tight range *Oil rises as Yemen unrest escalates, dollar falls (Reporting by Vikram Subhedar)