Hong Kong stocks finish their best lunar year since 2009 with 33 per cent gain
Analysts are generally optimistic about Hong Kong stocks in the Year of the Dog, but are cautious about a potentially faster pace of increases in US interest rates
Hong Kong stocks closed the Year of the Rooster on an upbeat note, logging an annual gain of 33 per cent, their best lunar year performance since 2009. The market was also a top performer among major global markets.
The Hang Seng Index ended the half-day session on Thursday at 31,115.43, up 2 per cent from the previous day. The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index, or the H-share index, finished up 2.2 per cent at 12,535.51.
In the past lunar year, which started on January 28, the Hang Seng Index has jumped 7,755 points, or 33 per cent, its best performance since the Year of the Ox in 2009. Globally, it has outperformed major indices such as the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the Nasdaq Composite in the United States, Japan’s Nikkei 225, India’s BSE Sensex 30, Germany’s DAX index and France’s CAC 40 index.
The 33 per cent jump also marks the best “Rooster Year” performance since 1993, when the index soared by 95 per cent.
Thursday’s half-day turnover reached HK$76.9 billion (US$9.83 billion) on the main board. Although it is weaker than usual before a Lunar New Year holiday, the number has increased by more than twofold from the half-day turnover of HK$29.6 billion on January 27, 2017, the last trading session of the Year of the Monkey.