The Hang Seng Index closed 0.21 per cent firmer yesterday, as profit-taking set in after it breached the 13,000-point barrier.
The index ended 27.47 points ahead at 12,864.86 on a turnover of $7.19 billion.
The index peaked early at 13,023.2 points on futures-led trading, brokers said.
The June futures contract closed at a 182.61-point premium to the cash market on Monday.
'The stock market tried to catch up with the futures market,' Celestial Asia Securities director Eugene Law Ka-kin said.
Gains on Wall Street also lifted the market. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.01 per cent on Monday to 10,909.38 points.
However, investors became wary as the Hang Seng Index approached the 13,000-point level, Delta Asia Securities research manager Ricky Tam Siu-hing said.
