21.   Traders were cautious about making deals ahead of the auction results.

22.   U.K. bonds, stocks and sterling rose after the auction results were announced.

23.   Traders said gilts will likely remain under pressure before the auction results are known.

24.   Uneximbank cried foul and sued in an effort to reverse the auction results.

25.   With that in mind, he said, many dealers looked at the auction results Wednesday as an excuse to cover their short positions.

26.   As stock prices came under siege at the end of October, the market looked to auction results for indications as to the direction of the property market.

27.   But it abruptly reversed direction in midafternoon as the auction result for the first piece of land reached the market.

28.   But he warned that the land auction results should not be seen as a market barometer because the two sites were too small.

29.   Chi Cheung Property said the auction results would not be a good indicator of how developers would view the long-term prospects of the property market.

30.   Government land agent Ian MacNaughton said he is satisfied with the auction result as the sale price actually reflected the current market sentiment.