Tech shares drive up the Hong Kong market before Golden Week

Hong Kong stocks rushed to the second-highest level for over four years on Monday, thanks to the strong performance of tech shares and the coming mainland market close during the National Day Holiday.

The Hang Seng Index closed Monday at 26,622, 494 points or 1.89 percent higher than the previous close, marking the second-highest close after July 2021. The market benchmark tapped as high as 26,687 in the afternoon. 

The full-day main board turnover, however, decreased 4.5 percent to nearly HK$309 billion from last Friday.

The Hang Seng Tech Index gained 2.08 percent to 6,324. Alibaba (9988), the most traded stock on Monday, rose 4.8 percent, 

SMIC (0981) jumped 4.9 percent to HK$76.55 and CATL (3750) marched 3.11 percent to HK$547, both hitting a new record close price since listing.

In mainland China, the Shenzhen Component Index extended gains to 2 percent when ending at 13,479 and the startup-savvy ChiNext index also leapt 2.7 percent to 3,238, a fresh four-year high after December 2021. 

The Shanghai Composite Index inched up 0.9 percent to 3,862 

Mainland stock markets are scheduled to suspend trading during the eight-day National Day Holiday through October 8.