H-shares and Hong Kong blue chips were hit by profit-taking Thursday in the second-biggest trading day in the Hong Kong exchange's history, the South China China Morning Post reported. The H-share index slumped 3.89% from Wednesday's record high to close at 10,347.67 points. The Hang Seng Index fell 1.9% cent to close at 20,025.58 points, after an intraday high of 20,463.18.Turnover was US$9.82 billion, the second largest on record. Auyeung Tat, managing director of Apex Capital Management said investors took falling oil prices and the hawkish views of the US Federal Reserve on inflation as excuses to take profits. "But I think it's just a normal correction after the recent rally, given that the fundamentals remain solid," he said. He also attributed the dive to a sudden fall in Shanghai's A-share market, which gained as much as 6% in morning trading but closed up only 1.5%. Despite its sharp drop in late trading, the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index still hit a new record high of 2,715.72 points.
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