HK Stocks End 2020 On A Positive Note

Hong Kong stocks closed on Thursday with small gains, ending a tumultuous year on a positive note.

The Hang Seng Index closed at 27,231, up 84 points or three percent. Trading was closed in the afternoon ahead of the New Year break.

Geely Auto led the gainers on Thursday, rising more than 8 percent to HK$26.5.

Sinopharma surged 3.4 percent to HK$18.86 after Beijing approved the company's Covid-19 vaccine.

But China Unicom Hong Kong dropped 1.3 percent to HK$4.45. The mainland telecom company becomes the latest firm to be removed by a major US investment index compiler, MSCI, because of suspected ties with the Chinese military.

Throughout 2020, the benchmark index lost 3 percent.

Mainland stocks also climbed on the last day of the year, as investors cheered a Sino-Europe investment deal and Beijing's continued policy support for its capital markets.

The CSI300 index rose 0.9 percent, to 5,161 points, at the end of the morning session on Thursday, while the Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.8 percent, to 3,442 points.

Trading was closed in Tokyo and South Korea.