Telecoms group Cable & Wireless will receive a £2.4bn (€3.6bn) takeover approach from a Hong Kong-based firm later this week, it was reported today.

Share prices closed the morning off their highs, lacking momentum to push the advance further after the Hang Seng index breached key resistance at 10,000 points, dealers said.

Share prices were lower, tracking the falls on Wall Street overnight, with sentiment continued under pressure after S&P's downgrade of the territory's local currency ratings outlook to negative from stable yesterday, dealers said.

Share prices closed the morning lower on profit-taking following yesterday's gains, with sentiment also weighed down by Standard & Poor's downgrade of Hong Kong's local currency ratings outlook and the ratings on HSBC's Hong Kong units, dealers said.

Shares prices closed lower in cautious trade, with Wall Street's overnight performance seen as a mere short-term rebound rather than indicating a genuine improvement in sentiment, dealers said.

Share prices closed the morning lower in reaction to the steep declines on Wall Street overnight, but recent sustained falls on the local bourse help limit losses in the magnitude seen in US markets, dealers said.

Share prices closed a relatively rangebound morning session higher in thin trade, rebounding slightly from yesterday's heavy losses, although investors continued to exercise caution after a volatile session on Wall Street overnight, dealers said.

Share prices closed a relatively lacklustre morning session slightly lower, with trade locked in a fairly tight range as a lack of solid leads kept most players on the sidelines, dealers said.

Share prices closed the morning lower, pressured by Wall Street's overnight weakness following weak US retail sales data, dealers said.

Share prices were lower after Wall Street's decline, but off their lows with H-shares outperforming, amid general investor caution towards the weekend, dealers said.

Techs and telecoms are on the slide as the FTSE-100 Index drops 73.9 points.