Hong Kong stocks snap 5-day winning streak on profit-taking

Hong Kong stocks ended lower on Thursday, snapping a five-day winning streak, as investors locked in profit following sharp gains helped by strong demand from mainland investors. ** At the close of trade, the Hang Seng index was down 0.12% at 29,927.76.

Hong Kong stocks ended lower on Thursday, snapping a five-day winning streak, as investors locked in profit following sharp gains helped by strong demand from mainland investors.

** At the close of trade, the Hang Seng index was down 0.12% at 29,927.76. The Hang Seng China Enterprises index fell 0.5% to 11,889.45. ** The sub-index of the Hang Seng tracking energy shares rose 0.1%, while the IT sector dipped 0.28%, the financial sector ended 0.37% higher and the property sector dipped 0.34%.

** The top gainer in the Hang Seng was Sino Biopharmaceutical Ltd, which gained 3.98%, while the biggest laggard was Xiaomi Corp, which closed 3.13% lower. ** The retreat bucked a broad rally in other Asian markets, which rallied on hopes of more economic stimulus from newly inaugurated U.S. President Joe Biden to help the economy.

** Around the region, MSCI's Asia ex-Japan stock index was firmer by 1.43%, while Japan's Nikkei index closed up 0.82%. ** Republicans in the U.S. Congress have indicated they are willing to work with the new president on his administration's top priority, a $1.9 trillion fiscal stimulus plan, but some are opposed to the plan's price tag.

** China's main Shanghai Composite index closed up 1.07% at 3,621.26 points, while the blue-chip CSI300 index ended up 1.62%. ** The yuan was quoted at 6.4635 per U.S. dollar at 0810 GMT, 0.01% weaker than the previous close of 6.463.

** At close, China's A-shares were trading at a premium of 33.43% over Hong Kong-listed H-shares.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)