Investors rode Hong Kong stocks to a super-charged return of 34.2 per cent from the benchmark Hang Seng Index last year, and despite some jitters, many hung on for the ride as the new year got under way.
Their faith was rewarded - but just for a few more weeks - as they were treated to more of the same growth in January, when the index advanced a further 5per cent to within touching distance of 21,000 points on January 25, before slipping back on talk of an interest rate rise in China.
But towards the end of February nerves quickly frayed and over four days from February 26 to March 1, almost 1,400 points (or 6 per cent) was wiped off the index, which plunged to below 20,000 before profit-takers returned to the market and began clawing back those losses.
But by the middle of the month the jitters had returned, and the index was back below 20,000. So what happened and what lies in store for investors for the rest of the year?
The consensus among analysts seemed to be that simply too much money had been chasing too few stocks and investor appetite for risk had risen to levels where something had to give.
In its March issue, the Bank of China (Hong Kong)'s Monthly Economic Review noted that 'based on recent economic data, the current global market correction was not caused by fundamental economic factors' but was rather a knee-jerk reaction to a retreat on China's equity market.