Hong Kong stocks ended the year with a modestly winning session Wednesday, after HSBC revised its Chinese manufacturing activity index for December slightly higher from an earlier reading.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index climbed 103.94 points, or 0.4%, to finish the year at 23,605.04, capping an annual gain of 1.3%. Though mild, the yearly advance means the benchmark index has now risen for three straight years in a row.
Earlier in the day, the final reading of the HSBC China Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index for December printed at 49.6, up from a preliminary reading of 49.5 announced earlier this month, though down from November’s final result of 50.0.
Among market movers, Chinese financial shares posted substantial gains in Hong Kong, ahead of anticipation of the official launch of stock options in China in the new year. The Shanghai Stock Exchange said recently it plans to organize a pre-launch system test in January for the stock-option service.
Among the financials, Guotai Junan International Holdings Ltd. climbed 2.1%, China Galaxy Securities Co. advanced 1.9%, China Everbright Ltd. rose 1.8%, Haitong Securities Co. added 1.5%, and Citic Securities Co. moved up 1%.
Chinese state-owned railway giants China CNR Corp. and CSR Corp. soared 45% and 32%, respectively, after the companies announced a merger plan pushed by the central government.
In Australia, markets drifted lower by 0.1%, but finished the year with a modest advance of 1.1%. The index also marked a third straight year of gains.
Japanese and Korean stock markets were closed for trade on the day of New Year’s Eve.
In other markets;
Shanghai’s CSI 300 index grew 76.15 points, or 2.2%, to 3,533.71.
In Singapore, the Straits Times Index fell 0.96 points to 3,365.15
The Taiex index in Taiwan regained 38.83 points, or 0.4%, to 9,307.26
New Zealand’s Exchange 50 fell 8.92 points, or 0.2%, to 5,568.28
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 faded 5.63 points, or 0.1%, to 5,411.
