Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rose to a fresh closing peak on Wednesday, aided by continued strength in index heavyweight Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEx). HKEx jumped more than 2 percent to 2-1/2-year highs. At close of trade, the Hang Seng index was up 78.66 points or 0.25 percent at 31,983.41. The Hang Seng China Enterprises index rose 0.64 percent to 12,868.78.
The sub-index of the Hang Seng tracking energy shares dipped 1.3 percent while the IT sector rose 0.71 percent, the financial sector was 0.6 percent higher and property sector dipped 1.01 percent. The top gainer on Hang Seng was China Mengniu Dairy Co Ltd up 5.3 percent, while the biggest loser was Country Garden Holdings Co Ltd which was down 5.51 percent. So far this year, the Hang Seng index is up 6.64 percent, while China's H-share index is up 9.2 percent. As of the previous close, the Hang Seng has risen 6.64 percent this month. The top gainers among H-shares were CITIC Securities Co Ltd up 7.32 percent, followed by China Galaxy Securities Co Ltd gaining 5.88 percent and Haitong Securities Co Ltd up by 4.28 percent. The three biggest H-shares percentage decliners were China Vanke Co Ltd which was down 5.09 percent, PetroChina Co Ltd which fell 1.7 percent and Guangzhou Automobile Group Co Ltd down by 1.4 percent.