Public confidence in the stock and property markets is fading after rising strongly for a few months, according to figures from the Policy Research Institute.
A poll at the beginning of the month found that confidence in the stock market had sunk by 11.7 per cent month to month, falling to 91.9 points in August after reaching 104 in July.
It had jumped to the July figure by 50 per cent from 69.3 points in May.
Raymond Chan Wai-man, a researcher at the institute, could not explain the change, saying respondents were asked only whether their confidence was greater, less or the same.
However, the stock-confidence index roughly mirrored the stock market, with the benchmark Hang Seng Index surging from a low of 13,722.70 points on May 26 to a high of 17,920.86 on July 21. Since then, it has traded flat, closing at 17,214.42 on Friday.
Meanwhile, confidence in the property market has followed a similar pattern. It dropped by 11.6 per cent month to month to 93.5 points in August after reaching 105.8 in July.
