Hong Kong share prices will likely swing wildly as investors remain sensitive to any piece of positive or negative news, dealers said. For the week ending June 19, the benchmark Hang Seng Index closed at 17,920.93, down 5.1 percent on the week.
Despite the tumble, the index was still up 58 percent from the 2009 trough of 11,344 hit on March 9. Howard Gorges, vice-chairman of South China Securities, said the market remained beholden to the latest piece of data.
"Every day has a new reaction, markets are so sensitive to every bit of news," he told AFP. "Although it seems that the general background is a little more favourable, we have seen a shake-up in the past week, which was probably quite healthy (considering the surge in the past few months)," he added.
Gorges said the approach of half-yearly results would provide a good sense of how firms were coping with the crisis. He expected the market to move between 17,800 and 18,000 in the next week.
Ben Kwong said the fall-off in turnover showed the appetite for Hong Kong counters after its spectacular surge could be disappearing. "The upside for the Hang Seng Index is limited as falling turnover suggests investors withdrew funds from the market," said Ben Kwong, a director at KGI Asia, according to Dow Jones Newswires.
"Investors are reluctant to chase shares higher as positive catalysts seem to be running out," he said, adding that he expects the local index to trade between 17,500 and 18,500 points in the near term.