Update | Hong Kong stocks hit fresh 10-year high as insurers and Tencent lead gains
The Hang Seng Index rose 0.8pc to 29,136.57, led by gains in financial and tech shares
Hong Kong stocks hit a fresh 10-year high on Thursday, bolstered by financial and tech shares, as insurers enjoyed faster growth in premium incomes and producer prices increased more quickly than expected.
The Hang Seng Index climbed 0.8 per cent, or 228.97 points, to 29,136.57, its highest close since December 2007. The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index, or the H-share gauge, advanced 1.5 per cent to 11,744.54, a fresh two-year high. Turnover stood at HK$115.5 billion.
Mainland Chinese markets closed higher, lifted by coal and steel producers.
“Market sentiment was buoyed by the recent listings of new economy shares such as China Literature,” said Gordon Tsui Luen-on, managing director of Hantec Pacific. “A new game by Tencent and the spin-off of its unit pushed up its share price and raised the market’s expectations on other tech shares.”
Tencent Holdings, the world’s largest gaming company, rose 0.6 per cent after it launched a new game on Wednesday, which has already attracted millions of players.
Tencent also bought 145.8 million non-voting shares in Snap, the operator of Snapchat, equivalent to a roughly 12 per cent stake, in open market purchases during the past month, according to a US regulatory filing on Wednesday.