HONG KONG: Hong Kong's main Hang Seng index and China's H-shares index ended firmer in half-day trade on Monday with technology stocks leading gains, ahead of market holidays in the city for most of the week.

** At the close of trade, the Hang Seng index was up 252.18 points, or 1.07%, at 23,802.26. The Hang Seng China Enterprises index rose 1.7% to 8,349.95. Hang Seng Technology Index rose 2.4%.

** Hang Seng index ended January 1.7% higher, Hang Seng China Enterprises index up 1.4%, while the Technology index was down 4.5%.

** Mainland Chinese markets will be shut for a week-long Lunar New Year holiday, starting Jan. 31. Hong Kong markets will be closed from Feb. 1 to Feb. 3 and will resume on Feb. 4.

** China has selected 15 pilot zones and identified several areas of application to "carry out the innovative application of blockchain" technology, according to a joint government statement on Sunday, sending tech stocks up in Hong Kong.

Hong Kong stocks start day with small gain

** Data out on Sunday showed China's factory activity slowed in January as a resurgence of COVID-19 cases and tough lockdowns hit production and demand, and that capped the upside of the market.

** The sub-index of the Hang Seng tracking energy shares dipped 0.4%, while the IT sector rose 3.27%, the financial sector ended 0.09% lower and the property sector rose 0.42%.

** The top gainer on the Hang Seng was Meituan, which gained 5.58%, while the biggest loser was Budweiser Brewing Company APAC Ltd, which fell 4.2%.

** Around the region, MSCI's Asia ex-Japan stock index was firmer by 0.58%, while Japan's Nikkei index closed up 1.39%.

** The top gainers among H-shares were Kuaishou Technology up 6.61%, followed by Innovent Biologics, gaining 6.34% and Meituan, up by 5.58%.

** The three biggest H-shares percentage decliners were Alibaba Health Information Technology, which was down 1.52%, China Resources Beer, which fell 1.02%, and JD Health International, down by 0.95%.