Records Predicted As Hong Kong Market Reopens

After being closed for five days while China took over the territory, Hong Kong’s stock market reopens today with analysts predicting records.

Investors sent the market soaring to an all-time high Friday, ending more than a century of trading under British rule with a flourish and signaling confidence in Hong Kong’s financial future.

With the benchmark Hang Seng Index at 15,196.79, any gain Thursday would provide a new high to commemorate the market’s first day of trading under Chinese sovereignty.

It would be an auspicious start for Communist China, which is shifting to market economics and hopes to maintain Hong Kong’s position as a major business center. In speeches following the Hong Kong turnover at midnight Monday, Chinese leaders and Hong Kong’s new chief executive pledged to retain its capitalist way of life.

Fred Tsang, head of research at BNP PrimeEast Securities (HK) Ltd., said Wednesday that the speeches assured investors “that Hong Kong’s economy won’t be disrupted” and that its autonomy would be maintained. That “positive sentiment will drive the market to open higher,” he said.

Other traders and analysts also were optimistic.

“I don’t see anything that happened in the past two days that should disappoint the markets,” said Miron Mushkat, an economist with Lehman Brothers Asia Ltd.

Hong Kong’s bull market has been fueled by enthusiasm for firms with strong ties to China.