HONG KONG, Nov 25 (Reuters) - Hong Kong stocks are expected to fall on Monday as the exchange's biggest constituent HSBC Holdings comes under light selling pressure on fears that its plan to acquire a U.S. consumer lender may come undone.
Speculation that HSBC's US$14.2 billion deal to buy Household International Inc may be stalling sent the latter's shares sharply lower on Friday but HSBC stock ended down just 0.2 percent in London.
In Hong Kong, it gained 0.83 percent at HK$91.
Analysts said the rumour was likely unfounded but added some investors may use it as an the excuse to lock in profits. HSBC had been on the rise after news of the deal was announced as investors bet that the transaction would boost the firm's presence in the United States.
"There may be some profit-taking but not too much, people don't really think the deal will fall through," said Ben Kwong, director at KGI Asia. HSBC is the largest bank in Europe and Hong Kong.
Otherwise, the benchmark Hang Seng Index could consolidate after climbing for nine straight days, as investors await a raft of economic numbers later in the week from the United States, the territory's second largest trading partner.
The Hang Seng ended up 0.62 percent at 10,065.32 on Friday.
In the United States, the blue chip Dow Jones industrial average fell 0.46 percent, while the technology-laced Nasdaq Composite Index added 0.08 percent.
Hong Kong blue chip exporters could get a lift after U.S. West Coast longshoremen and port employers reached a deal that ends a bitter labour dispute that threatened to derail the U.S. economy. The docks handle more than half of U.S. trade and any port disruptions will ripple through world markets.
Garment trader Li & Fung and micro-motor maker Johnson Electric ended up 1.86 percent at HK$8.20 and 0.56 percent at HK$9, respectively.
"The news will be slightly positive for exporters but investors are quite cautious on these stocks now, (given a shaky recovery in the U.S.)," said Alex Wong, research director at RexCapital.
Away from blue chips, shares of China's largest van maker, Brilliance China Automotive Holdings could be supported by news that its shareholders have voted to remove former chairman Yang Rong from the company's board of directors.
Yang is wanted in China for alleged involvement in economic crime. Brilliance shares ended unchanged at HK$1.15 on Friday.
(US$1=HK$7.8)