Hong Kong stocks close higher as mainland banks gain
Hong Kong stocks ended slightly higher on Monday as mainland bank shares advanced, while property and tech stocks fell. The Hang Seng Index rose 59 points to close at 24,271, with turnover exceeding HK$162.6 billion.
Hong Kong stocks pared early gains to close slightly higher on Monday, as mainland bank shares outperformed while property and technology stocks declined.
The Hang Seng Index opened strongly, climbing more than 240 points to a session high of 24,455, before reversing in the afternoon to briefly fall about 20 points. It closed at 24,271, up 59 points. Turnover on the main board exceeded HK$162.6 billion.
The financial sub-index rose more than 1 per cent, led by mainland banks. China Merchants Bank gained over 3 per cent, while China Construction Bank and Bank of China advanced nearly 2 per cent or more. Among heavyweight financial stocks, HSBC rose 2 per cent and AIA added nearly 1 per cent, but Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing fell nearly 1 per cent.
Orient Overseas International was the best-performing blue-chip stock, rising more than 4 per cent, supported by a year-on-year increase of over 45 per cent in its quarterly shipping revenue.
The property sub-index fell about 1 per cent, with Longfor Group dropping nearly 4 per cent, China Overseas Land & Investment down nearly 2 per cent, and Hang Lung Properties and Sun Hung Kai Properties each losing more than 1 per cent.
The technology index slipped nearly 0.7 per cent to 4,169 points. Among major tech names, JD.com rose nearly 3 per cent and Alibaba gained over 1 per cent, but Xiaomi fell more than 5 per cent. Chip stocks also declined, with Hua Hong Semiconductor down nearly 5 per cent.
Gold-related shares weakened, with Laopu Gold tumbling nearly 8 per cent, making it the worst-performing Hang Seng Index constituent, while Chow Tai Fook fell more than 4 per cent.