Hang Seng Index ends shy of 25,000 points

Hong Kong stocks pared some gains and closed higher on Friday.

The benchmark Hang Seng Index rose 95 points, or 0.38 percent, to 24,951, with the full-day turnover of HK$263 billion.

The Hang Seng Tech Index went up 0.3 percent to 4,778.

CSPC Pharmaceutical (1093) surged 13.8 percent, marking the best performer in blue chips.

BYD (1211) rose 3.7 percent before releasing its earnings.

Pop Mart (9992) and Meituan (3690) continued to drop by 0.7 percent and 0.9 percent, respectively.

In the mainland, the Shanghai Stock Exchange Composite Index edged up 0.63 percent to 3,913 points, while the Shenzhen Stock Exchange Component Index increased 1.13 percent to 13,760 points.