Hong Kong shares may start lower, HSBC and China policy in focus

Hong Kong shares may start lower, HSBC and China policy in focus

Bloomberg, (5/3) - Hong Kong shares could sink further on Tuesday, dragged down by Europe's largest bank HSBC Holdings after its 2012 profit miss triggered selling of its London-listed stock. HSBC is to increase dividends this year in a show of strength over rivals even though the bank's annual profits fell after a money-laundering fine and compensation paid to customers. Several Chinese policy announcements will also come into focus after outgoing Premier Wen Jiabao kicked off the National People's Congress earlier on Tuesday, putting China's 2013 GDP growth target at 7.5 percent and consumer inflation target at 3.5 percent, according to targets contained in prepared comments for delivery at the start of the NPC. The Chinese finance ministry said it was raising the quota for bonds issued by local governments to 350 billion yuan in 2013, compared with 250 billion yuan in 2012. Standard Chartered Bank and Want Want China are among companies due to post final 2012 corporate earnings reports on Tuesday. StanChart is set to post a record $7 billion profit despite a big fine for breaking sanctions on Iran. On Monday, the Hang Seng Index ended down 1.5 percent at 22,537.8, just above last Tuesday's two-month closing low. The China Enterprises Index of the top Chinese listings in Hong Kong sank 2.1 percent. http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/03/05/markets-hongkong-stocks-preopen-idUSL4N0BW3ZU20130305