Hong Kong share prices face another round of volatile trade next week on persistent concerns about problems in the US housing market and ahead of a US central bank meeting, dealers said Friday.
They said a raft of 2006 earnings announcements from several blue chips companies next week, including China Mobile, PetroChina, Cheung Kong Holdings and Hutchison Whampoa, will also weigh on sentiment.
"Next week, you can expect to see a see-saw trade because several blue chips companies are reporting their earnings," said Castor Pang, strategist at Sun Hung Kai Financial Group.
"Some are expecting good results but some may not be so good," he said.
Pang said index heavyweight China Mobile, the country's largest mobile phone operator, is expected to post positive earnings and will continue to lead the market next week.
Cheung Kong, owned by tycoon Li Ka-shing, may not report an outstanding performance due to lower profits from property sales while unit Hutchison Whampoa may suffer from having only one or two asset disposals last year, he said.
Pang said investors will closely watch the Federal Reserve monetary policy meeting that ends Wednesday and figures for US existing home sales for February to gauge the state of the economy and outlook for the troubled housing market.
"If the figures are better than forecast, that would provide support for Wall Street. Otherwise, poor figures would lead to negative views on the outlook of the property market there," Pang said.
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