China’s Shanghai index had its best year since 2014

China’s Shanghai Composite just finished its best year since 2014.

The index ended the year up 22% after closing higher on Tuesday, its last trading day of 2019. That’s the best performance since the index recorded a 53% gain five years ago. That also makes it the year’s top performer among major Asian stock indexes.

The best performing stock on the index was a Chinese chip company called Will Semiconductor Shanghai. Its stock has increased nearly 400% this year.

It’s been a volatile year for Chinese stocks as the economy slows and as the US-China trade war has yet to reach a conclusion.

Stocks did surge in the first quarter, aided by the People’s Bank of China’s steps to boost economic growth and Beijing’s efforts to open up its financial markets. Trade tensions later caused the Shanghai index to fall for two consecutive quarters before it recovered losses in the home stretch of 2019.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index, which dropped 0.5% during a shortened trading session Tuesday, has also risen this year — albeit by a smaller 9%. Hong Kong markets were rattled by the trade war and by the city’s ongoing protests, but that hasn’t been enough to erase gains entirely.

The index’s top gainer this year was a Chinese biotech firm called Sino Biopharmaceutical. Its stock has more than doubled.

Both the Shanghai and Hong Kong markets will be closed Wednesday for the New Year holiday.

Here’s what else is happening in Asia at 3:30 p.m. Hong Kong time:

• China’s factories performed slightly better than expected in December, according to government data released Tuesday. The official purchasing managers index for manufacturing reached 50.2 this month, the same as November’s figure and slightly better than the 50.1 expected by analysts, according to Refinitiv data. A reading above 50 indicates growth from the previous month.
• China’s services sector also grew — non-manufacturing PMI registered at 53.5 in December. But that was slightly lower than November’s reading, indicating that the growth of services activity has slowed somewhat.
• Japanese and South Korean markets remained closed Tuesday for New Year’s Eve.