Hong Kong stocks will remain volatile next week amid uncertainties in the mainland, Chinese bourses, and the US economy, dealers said. For the week ending August 29, the benchmark Hang Seng Index surged 869 points or 4.26 percent to 21,261.89.
The market made a technical rebound on Friday due to speculation that China might introduce market-supportive measures over the weekend at the soonest. However, Eugene Law, head of research at Celestial Asia Securities Holdings, said the rebound might only be short-term.
"I have serious doubts if the gains will be sustained," he said. "The degree of volatility in our market this week and last week was very high," he said, pointing out that the index gained 400 points on Wednesday and lost nearly 500 points the next day.
"Prospects for the US market will become more uncertain as the presidential elections in November approach. In the meantime, nobody knows where China's markets are headed as sentiment there remains poor," Law said. Jackson Wong, investment manager at Tanrich Securities, told Dow Jones Newswires that he expected the near-term resistance level for the Hang Sang Index to be 21,700. "Trading is likely to remain volatile and highly news driven, with investors now tending to lock in gains on quick profit-taking," he said.