Hang Seng starts Year of the Snake on a high note
Mainland banks and developers lead the gains on the back of strong loan and home sales figures but buying appetite remains weak
Investors returned from the Lunar New Year holiday to a buoyant day of trading on the Hong Kong stock market yesterday, with the Hang Seng Index adding 198.09 points, or 0.85 per cent, to close at 23,413.25.
"The Hong Kong market has kicked off the Year of the Snake on a strong note, helped by gains on other Asian bourses," Renee Wong at China International Capital Corporation said in a research note to clients. "Volumes are a touch on the quiet side, as expected with [mainland] China still on holiday."
Stock markets on the mainland and in Taiwan will reopen on Monday.
Mainland banks and developers led the gains in Hong Kong despite low trading volumes. Retail and gaming stocks were also among the leaders.
But buying appetite was weak overall, with market turnover, at HK$57.8 billion, falling short of last year's average of about HK$80 billion.
Shares in mainland banks rose, thanks to better-than-expected loan data for last month. Loans totalled 1.07 trillion yuan (HK$1.32 trillion), beating market expectations of about 1 trillion yuan.
Bank of China added 2.4 per cent to HK$3.83. Its smaller rival, Shanghai-based Bank of Communications, partly owned by HSBC, gained 2.27 per cent to HK$6.30. HSBC rose 1.5 per cent to HK$87.65.