Hong Kong stocks closed higher on Monday, led by gains in energy and real estate shares.
The benchmark Hang Seng Index gained 0.51 percent to close at 23,211.81 points, the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index rose 0.59 percent to end at 7,802.09 points, while the Hang Seng Tech Index slipped 0.36 percent to end at 3,857.53 points.
Timothy Pope, a market analyst at China Global Television Network (CGTN), said the Hang Seng's advance was driven mostly by energy and real estate stocks, even as crude oil prices retreated from six-month highs.
"Hong Kong's Hang Seng added about half of one percent today with energy and real estate stocks contributing the most to the gains. That's despite crude oil prices today coming down off their six-month highs. They do remain though very elevated by historical standards. So, PetroChina and Sinopec were the Hang Seng's top performers," he said.
The market was also watching Hong Kong's IPO pipeline after a run of sizable listings, with a circuit board maker drawing attention ahead of its upcoming debut, according to the analyst.
"Hong Kong is also continuing to deliver some strong IPO performances. Today, we saw circuit board maker Suzhou Dongshan Precision Manufacturing raising 1.3 billion U.S. dollars in its Hong Kong IPO. This is a secondary listing though, with its stocks already trading in Shenzhen. But one thing Hong Kong hasn't been able to deliver reliably lately is really good after-listing performance, so it'll be interesting to watch how Dongshan Precision trades after its debut on Wednesday," Pope said.
Energy, real estate stocks lead Hong Kong market rally
Kenya must maintain high vigilance and continue strengthening disease surveillance and control measures, as the country reaches a critical phase in its response to the current Ebola outbreak, a World Health Organization (WHO) official said on Friday.
Neema Rusibamayila Kimambo, acting WHO representative to Kenya, commended on the Kenyan government's prompt response following the detection of the first imported case, which involved rapid contact tracing and isolation.
According to Kenya's Ministry of Health, the country has reported nine confirmed cases of the Bundibugyo ebolavirus strain, including two deaths. All subsequent confirmed cases were identified while under isolation and are currently receiving treatment, with no evidence of community transmission.
Just before the first batch of close contacts completed their 21-day medical observation without symptoms and began leaving quarantine starting Sunday, Kimambo noted that releasing contacts from observation does not signal the end of the outbreak.
"So for WHO criteria, we look at those 21 days. But we still have people who are sick, right? So until you come to the last patient being treated and is now Ebola-free, then we count up to 42 days to officially say this is over. So we still have a while to go for that," she said.
The official also highlighted the broader regional concern, particularly in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), where new cases continue to rise rapidly and cross-border human mobility increases the difficulty of epidemic control.
"They're currently now getting around an average of 70 something new cases every day. You can imagine if the case in Kenya, just one case, we had over 100 contacts. So imagine 70 new cases every day. How many contacts?" she said.
To address these challenges, the WHO is assisting relevant countries in sharing information and coordinating responses through national contact mechanisms and country offices, Kimambo added.
Kenya to remain vigilant in Ebola response: WHO official
