High turnovers and strong sentiment indicate further heavy interest

The Hong Kong share market is expected to continue to rise this week after setting a record high on Christmas Eve but the technology fever is likely to ease slightly.

The Hang Seng Index rose 537.2 points, or 3.29 per cent, in Friday's half-day session to 16,833.28, beating the previous record of 16,673.27 set on August 7, 1997.

The benchmark soared 846.93 points, or 5.29 per cent, for the week.

Brokers said the heavy turnover that pushed the index through the record suggested buying interest would still be strong this week.

'Sentiment at this point is still very strong . . . with the blue-chip index reaching 17,000 to 17,300 at the most this week,' OSK Securities research manager Alex Wong said.

Prudential-Bache Securities Hong Kong research head Sanjeet Devgan said: 'We only have three trading days left this year but if you look at the week after, the bull run will probably continue - perhaps not at the same momentum but I don't see an immediate correction.' Investors are not looking at individual stocks for reasons to buy, but take their cues from overall market sentiment and momentum.