Local Shares In Positive Territory At Lunch Break

Hong Kong and mainland shares went into the break on a positive note on Monday following a record lead from Wall Street on hopes for the rollout of a virus vaccine.

The Hang Seng Index rose 0.41 percent, or 106 points, to 26,263.

Across the border, the CSI300 index rose 0.8 percent to 4,893, while the Shanghai Composite Index gained 1 percent to 3,342.

The tech-heavy start-up board ChiNext added 0.4 percent, while Shanghai STAR50 index rose 1.2 percent.

Stocks climbed on news that China's factory output rose faster-than-expected in October and retail sales continued to recover albeit at a slower-than-forecast pace.

Property investment was a key driver of broader spending, with October real estate investment up 12.7 percent from a year ago, the fastest pace since July 2018 and quickening from 12 percent seen in September, according to Reuters calculations based on NBS data.

Materials firms led the gains on Monday, with the CSI300 materials index rising 3.8 percent. The index has gained 31 percent so far this year. (AFP & Reuters)