Hong Kong shares flip to gains on demand from mainland investors

BEIJING: Hong Kong shares reversed earlier losses to close higher on Wednesday, helped by tech and energy firms following continuous demand from mainland investors seeking lower-valued stocks.

** At the close of trade, the Hang Seng index was up 58.76 points or 0.2% at 29,307.46. The Hang Seng China Enterprises index rose 0.37% to 11,651.84.

** The sub-index of the Hang Seng tracking energy shares rose 1.7%, while the IT sector rose 1.92%. The financial sector shed 0.15% and the property sector dipped 0.71%.

** Mainland investors on Wednesday poured a net HK$12.3 billion ($1.59 billion) worth of Hong Kong stocks via the Stock Connect linking mainland and the Asian financial hub, attracted by their low valuations.

** In January, the southbound purchases totalled HK$310 billion, the highest on a monthly basis, according to HKEX.

** At close, China's A-shares were trading at a premium of 35.23% over Hong Kong-listed H-shares.

** China's main Shanghai Composite index closed down 0.46% at 3,517.31, while the blue-chip CSI300 index ended down 0.29%.

** Around the region, MSCI's Asia ex-Japan stock index was firmer by 1.35%, while Japan's Nikkei index closed up 1%.

** The yuan was quoted at 6.4578 per US dollar at 0819 GMT, down 0.02%.