Hong Kong stocks closed at a 25-month high on Monday after completing a seventh-straight month of gains, powered by strength in dual-listed resource firms which forecast rises in first-half earnings. The Hang Seng index rose 1.3 percent, to 27,323.99, while the China Enterprises Index gained 0.7 percent, to 10,827.84 points. For the month, HSI was up 6.1 percent, while HSCE gained 4.5 percent.
Strong inflows from mainland investors via the stock connect program linking Hong Kong and the mainland helped contribute to the rally in Hong Kong stocks, market participants said. An index of major material firms rose 4.5 percent as those shares tracked their mainland peers, with such counters expected to benefit from China's continued supply-side reforms and a weaker US dollar. China Shenhua, dual-listed in Shanghai and Hong Kong, gained 3.7 percent, after the country's largest coal producer said it expected a big rise in first-half profit.