HK stocks end up 0.71%, highest over 21 months

HONG KONG, Jan. 30 (Xinhua) -- Hong Kong stocks closed up Wednesday, climbing to their 21-month highest level.

The benchmark Hang Seng Index moved up 0.71 points to close at 23,822.06 points, after trading between a day high of 23,916.16 points and a day low of 23,765.57 points.Turnover expanded to 76. 13 billion HK dollars (9.81 billion U.S. dollars) from Tuesday's 75.66 billion HK dollars.

The H-Share Index moved up 171.67 points, or 1.02 percent, to end at 16,998.65 points.

Banking giant HSBC ended up 0.92 percent at 88.05 HK dollars. China Mobile, China's dominant mobile carrier ended up 0.76 percent at 85.8 HK dollars.

Mainland lenders listed in Hong Kong gained. ICBC, China's largest bank by market value, edged up 0.69 percent to close at 5.86 HK dollars; CCB, the country's second largest lender by market capitalization, increased 0.3 percent to close at 6.67 HK dollars; BOC, one of the "big four", ended up 0.53 percent to close at 3.81 HK dollars.

For local property developers, Sun Hung Kai, HK's largest property developer by market value, ended down 0.23 percent at 128.3 HK dollars; Cheung Kong properties, owned by billionaire Li Ka- shing, edged up 0.47 percent to 128.8 HK dollars.

PetroChina, the country's largest oil and gas producer ended up 0.54 percent at 11.14 HK dollars. Sinopec, China's top refiner, ended up 0.1 percent to 9.42 HK dollars.

China Life, one of the world's largest life insurers by market value, ended up 1.17 percent at 26.05 HK dollars.

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