Bourse chiefs ride high on Tiger after sharp early rise

Hong Kong stocks began the Year of the Tiger on a robust note, opening 400 points higher supported by financial counters.

The Hang Seng Index surged to 20,657.86 points at the opening, but gains were trimmed in the afternoon. The benchmark ended the day up 1.31 percent, or 265.32 points, at 20,534 - the highest in seven sessions.

Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (0388) chairman Ronald Arculli said at a ceremony to mark the start of trading in the new lunar year that he expects the financial market and the economy to be more stable in 2010.

HKEx chief executive Charles Li Xiaojia said the index's sharp rise in early trading bodes well for the Year of the Tiger.

More than 10 firms have gained approval to list in Hong Kong and the regulators are studying another 30 applications, Arculli said. He added that during a visit to Russia, many firms - mostly energy and state-owned transportation companies - expressed interest in following in the footsteps of UC Rusal (0486) and floating shares in Hong Kong.

Castor Pang Wai-sun, a research director at Cinda International, said: "The way the HSI opened so high was unexpected, as the local bourse followed the US market while shrugging off the fact that the mainland central bank raised the reserve requirement ratio for banks."