Hong Kong shares up 0.31% by close HONG Kong shares have closed 0.31 per cent higher after China posted stronger-than-expected trade figures for July. The benchmark Hang Seng Index on Thursday gained 67.04 points to 21,655.88 on turnover of $HK42.73 billion ($A6.15 billion). China's imports and exports both showed an unexpected jump in July, a positive sign for the world's second-biggest economy after persistent weakness raised concerns over growth. Bigger-than-expected gains in imports outpaced those of exports, causing the overall trade surplus to fall 29.6 per cent year-on-year to $US17.8 billion ($A19.87 billion), according to government data. Zhang Zhiwei, investment bank Nomura's chief China economist, said the trade numbers are "certainly positive since it suggests a temporary stabilisation but it doesn't change the medium-term view. I wouldn't read too much into one month's figures. This monthly data is very volatile," he told Dow Jones Newswires, Shares in banking giant HSBC rose 0.18 per cent to $HK84.25, China Mobile gained 1.1 per cent to $HK83, while Chong Hing Bank Ltd surged 17 per cent to $HK26.30 after the lender confirmed it had been approached about a potential takeover. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index edged down 0.09 per cent, or 1.88 points, to 2,044.90 on turnover of 72.0 billion yuan ($A13.18 billion). "The market will likely continue to see consolidation this month as more data comes out helping investors gauge economic performance in the third quarter," Zheshang Securities analyst Zhang Yanbing told Dow Jones Newswires. Financial shares and coalminers led the declines. Sunny Loan Top lost 2.87 per cent to 8.79 yuan, Southwest Securities dropped 1.89 per cent to 8.82 yuan and Industrial Bank shed 0.64 per cent to 9.27 yuan. Shanxi Coal International Energy dropped 2.22 per cent to 5.72 yuan while Shanxi Coking fell 1.07 per cent to 6.45 yuan.