Bush wants to prove that he has no interest in the Iraqi oil by doing what he did to Iraq.

I don't see that there's any motivation to move higher. The concerns about interest rates, oil prices and Iraq aren't going away. I think we're going to stay in a volatile range. The best we can hope for is the market to move sideways for a while.

People are looking for more clarity in terms of Iraq, interest rates, oil prices and the dollar.

I think clearly shows there is a lot of interest in Iraq and reflects the general interest of the public.

The dollar is a mess, interest rates appear to be on the rise, oil prices are going up and some earnings are looking weaker - it all adds up to bad news. I'm taking some profits on certain stocks, but it's not time to go running for the exits just yet.

Despite uncertainties on interest rates and oil prices during 2005, about 70 companies would be listed on the main board and the Growth Enterprise Market this year and funds raised could reach HK$192 billion.