Mainland Banks Propel HSI To End On High Note

Local shares have extended their winning streak to six days, breaching the 27,000-mark at one stage on Friday, thanks to optimism towards coronavirus vaccines and prospects of life gradually returning to normal.

The Hang Seng Index was soft at open but managed to catch up in the afternoon. A rally by mainland banking shares sent the local benchmark past 27,000 during trade.

The index later gave back some those gains and finished 75 points or 0.3 percent higher, at 26,894.

Market turnover was $112.7 billion.

Bank of Communications led the pack, soaring 4.6 percent; ICBC jumped 4.3 percent; and China Construction Bank and Bank of China each put on 2.2 percent.

Xiaomi was the biggest loser on the index, sliding 2 percent.

Oil companies also underperformed as prices for the commodity fell over supply concerns. Sinopec and CNOOC each dropped 1.6 percent.

For the week, the Hang Seng Index gained 1.7 percent.

Markets across the border were supported by upbeat industrial profits data. The Shanghai Composite Index added 1.1 percent, while the blue-chip CSI300 index advanced 1.2 percent. The Shenzhen Composite Index rose more than a third of one percent.

Across the region, the Nikkei in Japan rallied 0.4 percent. The Kospi in Seoul was up 0.3 percent, logging a fourth week of gains. Taiwan inched up more than 0.1 percent. Singapore was up more than 0.2 percent. But Australia retreated half a percent.