Year opens on positive note, but ECM activity seen as thin

There was a strong tone in Asian stock markets yesterday when Hong Kong and Singapore kicked off trading in 2012 thanks to a positive purchasing managers index in China that caused some enthusiasm among investors. But the 2.4% gain in the Hang Seng Index and the 1.6% rise in the FTSE Straits Times benchmark were logged amid thin volumes and hence didn’t display a huge amount of conviction.