Hong Kong share prices will face a volatile ride as the market looks for direction from interim results of blue chip companies, dealers said. For the week ending August 1, the benchmark Hang Seng Index closed up 121.89 points, or 0.54 percent, at 22,862.6.
Traders and analysts said the focus is on Hong Kong's first-half earnings season, with HSBC and Hang Seng Bank to post their results after the market's close next Monday.
"All eyes are now on HSBC's result next week, which may help support buying interest," said KGI Asia's Associate Director Ben Kwong. He expects the Hang Seng Index to stay comfortably above 22,000 next week. Other companies that will disclose their earnings next week include Standard Chartered, Cathay Pacific, MTR and Hongkong Electric.
But the market will find support from the Chinese authorities' control measures in the run-up to the Beijing Olypmics. On Friday, Chinese President Hu Jintao said the government aims to sustain economic growth and control inflation. The news drove HSBC up 0.39 percent and Hang Seng Bank up 3.12 percent. "Hong Kong's market tracks Wall Street and Shanghai very closely. This time around, our market opted to take its cue from Shanghai," said Kenny Tang, research director at Tung Tai Securities.