Hong Kong shares surge to record high - Dec. 27

Hong Kong shares surged to hit a record high to close up 409.21 points at 19,725.73 on Wednesday, surpassing the record 19,320.52 close last Friday

The bourse traded between 19,512.46 and 9,728.00 with a turnover of 48.47 billion dollars (6.2 billion U.S. dollars).

China Netcom sharply outran the broader market, jumping 30.8 percent to 25.45 on speculation that it may buy assets from rival China Unicom, which jumped nearly 8 percent to 11.40.

The spike in the phone company stocks came even though both companies issued statements saying there were no ongoing negotiations in relation to acquisitions.

Chinese financial stocks also soared following a recent rally on the domestic market, as well as proposed tax policies on the mainland.

Financial firm China Life jumped 11.7 percent to 27.20, while Ping An soared 17.2 percent to 44.90. The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China surged 13.2 percent to 4.98.

Source: Xinhua