Local Shares Rise Despite Falls Elsewhere In Asia

Local shares recorded modest gains on Wednesday, after the Chief Executive said Beijing supports deepening exchanges between the mainland and Hong Kong financial markets.

The benchmark Hang Seng Index put on 0.3 percent, or 81 points, to close at 26,669.

Turnover was HK$178 billion dollars.

The top-gainer on the index was HSBC, which surged more than 6 percent.

But Evergrande New Energy Vehicle suffered a more than 5 percent drop on the local bourse, after reports said Beijing has ordered officials to investigate construction and production details of the company's projects since 2017.

Stocks across the border fell, with the blue-chip CSI-300 index slipping more than 1 percent.

The Shanghai Composite Index saw the biggest intraday loss in nearly a month in losing 1.2 percent, weighed down by the fall of electric vehicle shares following news of authorities' investigation into the sector.

A downward trend was also seen in most markets across the region.

Seoul snapped a five-day winning streak and fell 0.6 percent, as investors dumped stocks to lock in gains.

Taipei and Singapore also reported losses, but Tokyo tracked a rally on Wall Street overnight and earned half a percent.

Oil prices rallied for the fourth straight day over hopes that a vaccine for the Covid-19 virus can boost demand for fuel.

Both the Brent crude and West Texas Intermediate crude contracts have gained around 9 percent in the last four days.