Hong Kong stocks mark 10-month closing high on recovery hopes

Hong Kong stocks climbed on Wednesday to a 10-month closing high, tracking gains in other Asian markets, as investors bet on a strong global economic recovery next year.

At the close of trade, the Hang Seng index was up 578.62 points, or 2.18%, at 27,147.11, its highest close since Feb. 21. The Hang Seng China Enterprises index rose 2.05% to 10,662.93.

The sub-index of the Hang Seng tracking energy shares dipped 0.8%, while the IT sector rose 4.75%, the financial sector ended 1.32% higher and the property sector rose 1.41%.

The top gainer on the Hang Seng was Alibaba Group Holding Ltd with a rise of 6.4%, while the biggest loser was China Unicom Hong Kong Ltd with a drop of 2.38%.

Convictions that global monetary authorities will continue to pump liquidity into the banking system to support the pandemic-stricken economy underpinned risk assets.

Investors shrugged off a move by US President Donald Trump's administration to strengthen an executive order barring US investment in Chinese firms with alleged military backing.

Global index publisher FTSE Russell said it might drop more Chinese companies from its global benchmarks in response.

China's main Shanghai Composite index closed up 1.05% at 3,414.45, while the blue-chip CSI300 index ended up 1.4%.

Around the region, MSCI's Asia ex-Japan stock index was firmer by 1.08%, while Japan's Nikkei index closed down 0.45%.

The yuan was quoted at 6.5338 per US dollar at 0822 GMT, 0.06% weaker than the previous close of 6.53.