By Carrie Chen
Nikkei Markets
HONG KONG (Jan 25) -- Hong Kong stocks retreated on Thursday from the previous day's record high, as concern grew that a string of share placements and issuances by companies could boost supply and cap market gains.
The benchmark Hang Seng Index was down 0.3% to 32,856.00 by the noon lunchbreak, poised for a decline for the first time in eight trading days. The 51-stock index, among the world's best performing equity benchmarks this year, briefly rose above the psychologically important 33,000 level in intraday trading on Wednesday, but failed to stay there amid worries the market may be overheating.
