Hong Kong stocks close higher in half-day trade ahead of Lunar New Year holidays

JD Health International

31/01/2022 04:09

* Hang Seng index ends up 1.07%
China Enterprises index HSCE rises 1.7% 
HSI financial sector sub-index flat; property sector up 0.4%

    HONG KONG, Jan 31 (Reuters) - Hong Kong's main Hang Seng
index  .HSI  and China's H-shares index  .HSCE  ended firmer in
half-day trade on Monday with technology stocks leading gains,
ahead of market holidays in the city for most of the week.
         
** At the close of trade, the Hang Seng index  .HSI  was up
252.18 points, or 1.07%, at 23,802.26. The Hang Seng China
Enterprises index  .HSCE  rose 1.7% to 8,349.95. Hang Seng
Technology Index  .HSTECH  rose 2.4%. 
    
** Hang Seng index ended January 1.7% higher, Hang Seng China
Enterprises index up 1.4%, while the Technology index was down
4.5%  

** Mainland Chinese markets will be shut for a week-long Lunar
New Year holiday, starting Jan. 31. Hong Kong markets will be
closed from Feb. 1 to Feb. 3 and will resume on Feb. 4     
    
** China has selected 15 pilot zones and identified several
areas of application to "carry out the innovative application of
blockchain" technology, according to a joint government
statement on Sunday, sending tech stocks up in Hong Kong.
 urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N2UA03J

** Data out on Sunday showed China's factory activity slowed in
January as a resurgence of COVID-19 cases and tough lockdowns
hit production and demand, and that capped the upside of the
market.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N2UA05N
       
** The sub-index of the Hang Seng tracking energy shares
 .HSCIE  dipped 0.4%, while the IT sector  .HSCIIT  rose 3.27%,
the financial sector  .HSNF  ended 0.09% lower and the property
sector rose 0.42%.
 
** The top gainer on the Hang Seng was Meituan  3690.HK , which
gained 5.58%, while the biggest loser was Budweiser Brewing
Company APAC Ltd  1876.HK , which fell 4.2%.
 
** Around the region, MSCI's Asia ex-Japan stock index
 .MIAPJ0000PUS  was firmer by 0.58%, while Japan's Nikkei index
 .N225  closed up 1.39%.
 
** The top gainers among H-shares were Kuaishou Technology
 1024.HK  up 6.61%, followed by Innovent Biologics  1801.HK ,
gaining 6.34% and Meituan  3690.HK , up by 5.58%.
 
** The three biggest H-shares percentage decliners were Alibaba
Health Information Technology  0241.HK , which was down 1.52%,
China Resources Beer  0291.HK , which fell 1.02%, and JD Health
International  6618.HK , down by 0.95%.

 (Reporting by Donny Kwok; Editing by Shailesh Kuber)
 ((donny.kwok@thomsonreuters.com; +852 2843 6470;))