The first Hello Kitty theme park outside Japan — 150 acres, in China, which cost over $300 million to construct — will open to the public on January 1 to a predicted one million visitors a year.

Share prices were higher on Wall Street rises following a series of positive US economic figures, with local sentiment continuing to improve after the benchmark index closed above key resistance of 10,000 points 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.

Share prices closed the morning lower on the back of falls on Wall Street, coupled with rising concerns about the US economy, after the US Federal Reserve shifted to an easing bias in its monetary stance, dealers said.

Share prices closed the morning lower due to the general perception that the outlook for Wall Street will remain unstable, in spite of its strong gains overnight, dealers said.