Year of the Dragon: Hang Seng to top 20,000 points as stocks face early pain, major swings, feng shui expert predicts
- The Hang Seng Index is seen scaling the 20,000 mark by end-December, and may even reach 25,000, if stars are aligned, banker-turned-feng shui expert says
- The preceding Rabbit year ranked as the worst on record for the city’s benchmark index with a 29 per cent loss
Since its inception, the Hang Seng Index has had a winning year every time the Year of the Dragon has come around the Chinese zodiac’s 12-year cycle, with gains ranging from 0.5 per cent in 2000 to 33.4 per cent in 1988, according to Bloomberg data. The benchmark also rallied in three of the four associated calendar years.
Investors can be “cautiously optimistic” about Hong Kong’s stock market fortunes as the mythical dragon takes flight, which symbolises power and luck in Chinese culture, To said in an interview. After a US$2 trillion sell-off since January 2021, a rebound in local equities may be imminent, he added.
“We are more likely to see a year of gains instead of another year of slump” despite the geopolitical and economic challenges, he said. “People want to see a real bottom in stock prices, before getting back into the market. I don’t think we are very far from that pit.”
To predicts the Hang Seng Index will climb above 20,000 by the end of December, and may even reach 25,000, if stars are aligned.
The preceding Year of the Rabbit ranked as the worst since the Hang Seng Index’s inception with a 29 per cent slump. In previous Rabbit years, the benchmark sank 16 per cent in 2011, rallied 70 per cent in 1999, fell 8.8 per cent in 1987 and soared 76 per cent in 1975, according to Bloomberg data.
20:30
A centuries-old Lunar New Year treat in Hong Kong
