HONG KONG, Dec 17 (Reuters) - Hong Kong stocks are set to rise on Friday, recovering some of the week's losses, with a higher close on Wall Street likely to prompt investors to scour the market for bargains.
The Hang Seng Index <.HSI> fell 1.3 percent on Thursday, closing below a key support level, around 22,800. Market players will be watching to see if the benchmark can retest that level, which now is the immediate resistance to overcome.
Traders at Daiwa Capital in Hong Kong said in an email to clients that they expected the market to rebound after yesterday's jitters.
Gaming stocks rose strongly in the U.S. on reports that land
concession requests for certain plots in Macau may be approved.
of Wynn Resorts Ltd
Those gains are expected to spill over to Hong Kong-listed counterparts.
Elsewhere in Asia, Japan's Nikkei <.N225> was trading 0.1 percent lower while financials pushed South Korea's KOSPI <.KS11> up 0.7 percent as of 0120 GMT.
STOCKS TO WATCH:
* Russian metals group Norilsk Nickel
* China's tightening measures to cool property prices have yielded "pretty good" results, the chairman of China Vanke Co Ltd <000002.SZ>, the country's largest developer by sales, said at the Reuters China Investment Summit on Thursday. [ID:nTOE6BF076]
* Ports Design Ltd <0589.HK>, a vertically intergrated high-end fashion retailer in China, aims to raise its store count by up to 10 percent in 2011 to deal with growing competition from global brands. [ID:nTOE6BF073]
* COSCO International Holdings Ltd <0517.HK> is disposing of its entire stake in Sino-Ocean Land Holdings Ltd <3377.HK> for $683.8 million, a 10.2 percent premium to Thursday's closing price, according to a term sheet. [ID:nTOE6BF06W]
* Maoye International Holdings Ltd <0848.HK> said it would buy two parcels of land for a shopping mall development project and for its department stores operation in Jiangsu province for 1.11 billion yuan. For statement click http://www.hkexnews.hk/listedco/listconews/sehk/20101217/LTN20101217019.pdf
* Standard & Poor's raised China's credit rating on Thursday in recognition of the government's light debt load and the "exceptional growth prospects" of the world's second-largest economy. [ID:nTOE6BF06F]
* Mongolian Mining Corp <0975.HK> has appointed Gankhuyag Adilbish, managing director of controlling shareholder MCS Holding LLC, as chief financial officer with effect from Dec 16. For statement click http://www.hkexnews.hk/listedco/listconews/sehk/20101216/LTN20101216598.pdf
* Dah Sing Financial Holdings Ltd <0440.HK> said its issue of 32.53 million rights shares, on the basis of one rights share for very 8 shares held at HK36.89 each, was 99.57 percent subscribe. For statement click http://www.hkexnews.hk/listedco/listconews/sehk/20101216/LTN20101216560.pdf MARKET SUMMARY *Wall Street firms on FedEx outlook, tech strength [nN16256782] *Treasuries prices rise; yields attract some buying [nN16254397] *Euro edges higher, but more losses still likely [nN16289986] *Oil dips on book squaring and as dollar rises [nLDE6BF0UW] (Reporting by Vikram S Subhedar, Editing by Chris Lewis)