Hong Kong stocks wrapped up 2025 with losses, though for the year the Hang Seng Index still gained 28 percent -- its best performance in eight years.

At the close of the half-day session on Wednesday, the benchmark gave up around 224 points, or about 0.9 percent, to settle at 25,630, with turnover reaching almost HK$119 billion.

The city's market is closed for New Year's Day on Thursday.

The Hang Seng Tech Index retreated over 1 percent to close at 5,515, with heavyweights Alibaba and Meituan down by about 1 percent and JD.com losing about 2 percent.

Some financial shares also lost ground, with China Life down by about 1.7 percent and AIA giving up about 1.5 percent, while shares of auto firms were also under pressure, with BYD losing over 2 percent, and XPeng and Li Auto dropping over 1 percent.

For the whole year, the Hang Seng Index gained 28 percent, or about 5,500 points, for its best yearly performance since 2017 when it rose about 36 percent.

The Hang Seng Tech Index jumped 23 percent in the year. Both of the key indices have risen for two years in a row.

The gains came as a tariff truce between Beijing and Washington mitigated geopolitical risks and as global investors became more enthusiastic about the country's tech advancements following the breakthroughs made by startup DeepSeek.

Among the key stock gauges in Asia this year, the Hang Seng's gains only came short of that of South Korea's Kospi, which soared 76 percent this year, as the country's new president Lee Jae-myung frequently pledged to double the country's main stock benchmark.

Hong Kong's key gauge also outperformed the Wall Street S&P 500, which rose 17 percent during the 12-month period.

Top performers included aluminium maker China Hongqiao Group, which rocketed 176 percent in 2025, while gold producer Zijin Mining Group came in second with a 151 percent surge.

Chipmaker Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation ranked third after soaring 127 percent this year as investors bet on rising demand on home-grown chips following China's tech self-sufficiency drive.

On the downside, Meituan gave up some 30 percent this year, making it the worst performer on the benchmark as an instant-delivery war on the mainland intensified following the entry of players such as JD.com.

Automakers also saw losses throughout 2025, with Li Auto tumbling 31 percent.