Investors returned from the Lunar New Year holiday to a buoyant day of trading on the Hong Kong stock market yesterday, with the Hang Seng Index adding 198.09 points, or 0.85 per cent, to close at 23,413.25.

“The Hong Kong market has kicked off the Year of the Snake on a strong note, helped by gains on other Asian bourses,” Renee Wong at China International Capital Corporation said in a research note to clients. “Volumes are a touch on the quiet side, as expected with [mainland] China still on holiday.”

Stock markets on the mainland and in Taiwan will reopen on Monday.