HK stocks end 5-day losing streak

Analysts expect Hang Seng Index to stay volatile during first six months

The Hong Kong Stock Exchange broke out of its downward trend with the benchmark Hang Seng Index gaining 0.42 percent on Thursday, ending a five-day losing run. Analysts said the market's growth momentum will ease in 2018, with the index remaining volatile in the first half of the year.

"The market has not bottomed out yet, and if we look at global markets, such as the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the A-share market, they have already fallen below last year's closing prices, so there's the possibility that the Hong Kong market will move towards the 29,919 level, which was last year's closing," First Shanghai Securities chief strategist Linus Yip Sheung-chi said.