Hong Kong shares lower on profit taking; GEM board higher on fund shifts

HONG KONG (AFX-ASIA) - Share prices were lower on profit taking after yesterday's significant gains, but selling pressure was limited on the back of expectations that the US Federal Reserve will come up with further interest rate reductions in May.	    They said the GEM board outperformed the main board as investors moved their funds to the major GEM board listings, such as tom.com and Sunevision, but the buying was very speculative since there are still concerns about their fundamentals.	    At 10:49 am, the Hang Seng index was down 32.22 points at 13,516.73 on turnover of 2.41 bln hkd.	    The Hang Seng April contract last traded at 13,493 points.	    The Hang Seng China Enterprises index was up 4.69 points at 456.97 and the CAC index was up 10.25 points at 1162.17.	    TraHK was down 0.05 hkd at 13.65 on volume of 1.29 mln units.	    The GEM index was up 6.73 points at 278.20 on turnover of 144.34 mln hkd.	    Kenneth Tang, assistant research manager with Vickers Ballas, said the current profit taking was no surprise to him.	    "The Hang Seng Index rose almost 1,000 points in the past two trading sessions. It is not unusual for the market to have a break," Tang said.	    However, Tang said the selling pressure was not intolerably heavy.	    "Investors still expect the US Fed will further cut interest rates. The expectations, in particular, are lending support to the bank sector," Tang said.	    The Hang Seng financial subindex was up 70.64 points at 21,025.10.	    HSBC was up 0.50 to 99.00 hkd, while Hang Seng Bank was down 0.25 at 95.00.	    Bank of East Asia shed 0.05 to 17.75 and Dao Heng Bank dropped 0.25 to 56.50.

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