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"After scratching aimlessly for the first couple of months, the
Hang Seng claws its way upwards, to rule the roost around
July/August," CLSA said in its annual tongue-in-cheek financial
forecast for the upcoming Lunar New Year, which starts on Jan.
28 this year.
Jeffrey Tong, who in his usual day job is a senior research
associate covering microstrategy at CLSA, donned the mantle of a
feng shui master for this year's outlook and forecast that
conditions are going to be choppy in the near term.
"After a few ups and downs, by November/December the Earth
Rooster loses his grip, but still manages to end the year on a
higher perch overall," it said.
Transportation and gaming stocks will be in favor in the first
quarter while retail, healthcare, technology and utilities will
gain prominence in the June quarter, according to Tong.
On Hong Kong property, he advised buying homes in the north.
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, who will be inaugurated on
Friday, was born in the Year of the Dog, scoring him in the
middle of the pack in terms of performance.
"He is not the best but not the worst either," Tong said.
Those forecasts, while meant to be taken with a pinch of salt,
do gel well with CLSA's more serious, traditional forecast. CLSA
did not have predictions for the exact level of the index by the
end of the year.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng index <.HSI> saw wild swings in the
outgoing Year of the Monkey before ending little changed for
2016. It has gained 5 percent so far in 2017.
(Reporting by Gabriel Yu; Additional reporting by Michelle Chen;
Editing by Kim Coghill)
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