After a run of feeble stock market debuts, Hong Kong investors were heartened by Wynn Macau's first steps as a public company yesterday. The casino operator, with a market capitalisation of $7bn, was up 9 per cent in its first three hours.

Evidence of pent-up demand would not have been a surprise to the directors of Wing Lee Holdings, a manufacturer of switches and jacks, which leapt as much as 80 per cent on Thursday. Volumes were about 10 times greater than normal. The first two Chinese characters for the names of Wing Lee and Wynn are the same, denoting “perpetual profit”. As Wynn rose yesterday, Wing Lee quietly crept back down, suggesting investors keen for exposure to a resurgent Macao gaming market had got a little carried away. Perhaps cooler heads will prevail at the baccarat table.