A sharp fall in trading volumes suggests players are sidelined, awaiting fresh leads
Hong Kong stocks finished 0.11 per cent higher yesterday, ending a three-day losing streak, but market participants said the mood in the market was little changed compared with the previous session.
CNOOC and China Telecom were the centre of attention following acquisition news, while the buying of second-tier banks also helped prop up the Hang Seng Index.
A sharp decline in trading volumes, however, indicated that many investors were staying away from the market, while awaiting fresh news to give sentiment a renewed boost.
'The market is still absorbing Thursday's downturn,' said Matthew Long, the head of equity derivatives sales at Macquarie Bank. 'You are going to see some reasonable day-to-day movements, but after such a significant fall it will take a little while to recover.'
Last Thursday, the Hang Seng Index fell 501.45 points in its worst decline since the September 11 terrorist attacks in the United States.