Hong Kong: Shares gain on Greece hopes, higher oil price

[HONG KONG] Hong Kong shares rose in line with most Asian markets, lifted by a rebound in the oil price and encouraging developments in Greece.

The new Greek government dropped calls for a write-down of its foreign debt, easing concerns about growing instability in the eurozone.

The energy sector led gains in Hong Kong on Wednesday, sparked by the recent rally in oil prices.

Chinese offshore energy producer CNOOC Ltd announced a sharper-than-expected cut in capital spending for this year, in the first public response by a major Chinese oil company to the turmoil in the oil market.

The Hang Seng index rose 0.5 per cent, to 24,679.76, while the China Enterprises Index was flat at 11,767.49 points.

Among the most actively traded main board stocks were Chaoda Modern Agriculture Holdings Ltd, down 6.0 per cent at HK$0.40; Unity Investments Holdings Ltd, up 5.1 per cent at HK$0.04 and Universe International Holdings Ltd, down 22.7 per cent at HK$0.07.

Total trading volume of companies included in the HSI index was 1.8 billion shares.

REUTERS