Update | Hong Kong stocks close just shy of record high on optimism over new share listings

The Hong Kong stock market closed just short of a record high on Monday, as profit-taking pulled it back from earlier strong gains sparked by rises in financial firms and optimism over the possibility of more initial public offerings.

The Hang Seng Index closed down 0.23 per cent, or 73.67 points, at 31,338.87, just shy of its record closing high of 31,638.22 set on October 30, 2007. Its high for the day was 31,733.18, just below the intraday record of 31,958.41 also set on the same day in 2007.

The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index was little changed, up 1.49 points at 12,470.42.

“The market performance is a little bit choppy, mainly because mainland China market indices dropped in the afternoon so the Hang Seng followed this pattern,” said Stanley Chan, director of research at Emperor Securities.

“The market needs some consolidation at this level, because there have been huge accumulated gains in the past two months so there needs to be profit taking.”

Gains early in the session had been led by financials, with Ping An Insurance closing up 2.08 per cent to HK$88.20 after its online wealth management unit Lufax, the largest wealth manager in China, said it planned to file an initial public offering (IPO) application to the Hong Kong exchange at the end of this month, seeking a valuation of US$60 billion.

Other insurers were up alongside Ping An, with AIA Group gaining 0.1 per cent to HK$67.30 and Manulife adding 1.01 per cent to HK$169.80.