Update | Hong Kong stocks close at 10-year high; HKEX rallies on reported stamp duty cut
However, HKEX chief executive Charles Li said he was not aware of any specific plan, programme or decision to review or reduce stamp duty
Hong Kong stocks reached their highest level in nearly a decade on Monday after media reports said the bourse operator was considering asking the city’s government to cut the stamp duty on share trades.
The Hang Seng Index rose 0.8 per cent, or 216.37 points, to 28,692.80, the highest level since December 2007. Turnover was HK$103 billion compared with average daily trading turnover of HK$95 billion in the previous week.
The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index, known as the H-shares index, gained 0.7 per cent to 11,602.92.
Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing (HKEX) rose as much as 4.8 per cent before paring increases to end the day 2.7 per cent higher at HK$225.6.
HKEX chief executive Charles Li Xiaojia said he was not aware of any specific plan, programme or decision to review or reduce stamp duty. Bloomberg had earlier reported that the bourse operator was considering asking the city’s government to remove or reduce the 0.1 per cent stamp duty on stock trades, a move that many see as boosting stock trading and market liquidity.
A spokesperson for HKEX said stamp duty on stock transactions is a matter of government fiscal policy and any change would not be a decision for HKEX to make.