HONG KONG: Hong Kong stocks on Tuesday managed to hold onto most of their gains from the previous session with heavyweight HSBC rising after its largest shareholder, Chinese insurance giant Ping An, called for a break-up of the London-headquartered bank.
The Hang Index gained 0.06% to 21,101.89, while the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index shed 0.43% to 7,267.25.
Mainland Chinese markets are closed for a holiday. Trading will resume on Thursday.
The Hang Seng index has been moving around the 20,000 level for the last few days, and in the near term it remains to be seen how China implements potentially market friendly policies, said Louis Tse, managing director of Hong Kong brokerage Wealthy Securities.
The benchmark jumped 4% on Friday, its last close, led by tech stocks that rose 10% after China signalled an easing of its crackdown on the once-freewheeling tech sector, as President Xi Jinping seeks to bolster the economy in the face of growth-sapping COVID-19 lockdowns.
The Hang Seng Tech Index slipped a little on Tuesday, falling 1.38%.
HSBC's Hong Kong shares marked their best day in six weeks, rising 2.57%, following reports on Friday that Ping An had urged HSBC to explore options including spinning off its Asian business, where it earns the majority of its revenue, or take other steps to increase its valuation.
Bank of China Hong Kong was the top gainer on the Hang Seng Index, up 4.71%, following strong results after market close on Friday.
Markets in London and Hong Kong were closed on Monday for a holiday.
Alibaba's shares were volatile on Tuesday, falling as much as 9% after a state media report said Chinese authorities had taken action against an individual surnamed Ma, but recouped losses after those reports were revised to make clear it was not the company's founder. Shares ended down 1.76%.
Mainland developers trading in Hong Kong added 2.6%, building on Friday's gains.
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