Hong Kong shares will post a 19 percent gain for 2012, overcoming worries over the future of the euro zone and the extent of China's economic downturn, a Reuters poll of market strategists said.
While those concerns could still prove troublesome, waning price pressures in China that allow for more policy easing steps to boost growth are seen as likely to support share prices trading at relatively cheap valuations.
Hong Kong's benchmark Hang Seng Index should hit 22,000 by the end of 2012 according to a median forecast of 19 analysts and strategists polled in the past week, down from the 23,000 forecast in a March poll. That would equate to a 16 percent rise from current levels. The 17 percent slide from the Hang Seng's year-high in February to the lows in June.