HK Hot Stocks - HSBC drops; Gold stocks jump

HONG KONG, May 21 - By 0355 GMT, the benchmark Hang Seng Index was down 1.1 percent at 17,284.92.

The China Enterprises Index of top mainland companies had fallen 0.8 percent to 9,959.55.

Here are some of the stocks on the move in early trade-

* Gold stocks bucked the downtrend to rise sharply after the price of the precious metal shot up to a eight-week high on Wednesday on a weak dollar.

Zijin Mining jumped 3.7 percent, while Lingbao Gold soared 7.9 percent.

* HSBC dropped 2.4 percent, tracking losses in its Wall Street peers after the U.S. Federal Reserve cut its 2009 forecast for gross domestic product and raised its outlook for unemployment, tempering hopes that the world's largest economy was on the mend.

* Melco International retreated 9.7 percent to HK$5.38 after it said 34.11 percent owned Melco Crown Entertainment posted a 55 percent drop in net revenue in the first quarter of 2009.

The decrease was driven by an abnormally high win rate and greater rolling chip volume at the Altira Macau in the first quarter, the casino operator said.

Deutsche Bank downgraded the stock to "hold" from "buy" on Thursday following a 170 percent run up in the share price in the past three months ahead of the opening of its new casino in Macau in June

* Chinese vehicle manufacturer Dongfeng Group jumped 5.9 percent to HK$6.91, extending Wednesday's gains, after the Chinese government expanded a subsidy scheme to encourage consumers to buy more cars and home appliances.

Morgan Stanley increased its target price on the stock by 30 percent to HK$8.30 on expectations the company's passenger vehicle sales growth would continue to accelerate in 2009.