Softer property prices, interest rates and Taiwan tension cloud horizon
Hong Kong shares could enjoy a boost in trading today after Friday's jump on Wall Street, but brokers do not expect an extended rally.
Softer property prices, the possibility of another interest rate rise next month and continuing Beijing-Taipei tension would cap gains, they said.
Last week the Hang Seng Index shed 1.53 per cent to 13,178.31 points despite figures showing the economy recorded growth in the second quarter, as interest rate concerns ruled the day.
'Interest rates will maybe go up another 25 basis points in October . . . with this kind of news hanging around, it's hard to break through 14,000,' said Celestial Asia Securities head of research Josephine Hui Suet-ming.
She expects the Hang Seng Index to trade between the 12,800 and 13,600-point levels until the interest rate front is clearer.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 2.16 per cent on Friday after data showed the United States added fewer new jobs than expected last month, which relieves the pressure from wage-induced inflation.
