Update | Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index closes just short of 24,000, with turnover above HK$110bn
Chinese banks surge on China’s historic financing figures and Morgan Stanley report
Hong Kong’s benchmark Hang Seng Index briefly breached 24,000 on Wednesday for the first time in four months, before paring back some gains and ending within striking distance of the mark, mainly lifted by a surge in Chinese banks.
The index touched an intraday high of 24,067.62, the first time it broke the 24,000 level in intraday trading since October 11.
The index gave up some of the gains in later trading, but still ended Wednesday up by 1.2 per cent or 291.86 points at 23,994.87, the best close since September 9.
The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index, or the H-shares index, advanced 1.8 per cent or 181.6 points to 10,436.04.
Turnover jumped 30 per cent to HK$111 billion from Tuesday’s HK$85.5 billion, the highest level in five months.
Leading the gains were Chinese banks, with Agricultural Bank of China (ABC) surging 6.1 per cent, China Construction Bank (CCB) gaining 5 per cent, Bank of China (BOC) up 3.9 per cent, and ICBC up 2.8 per cent.