Hong Kong: Shares rise as Tencent hits a record on robust earnings

[hONG KONG] Hong Kong stocks firmed on Thursday, helped by index heavyweight Tencent Holdings, which climbed to a record closing high after posting solid third-quarter results.

The Hang Seng index rose 0.6 per cent, to 29,018.76 points, while the China Enterprises Index gained 1.1 per cent, to 11,533.96 points.

Shares of Chinese internet giant Tencent rose more than 2 per cent, as Asia's most valuable company beat expectations by reporting a 69 per cent jump in quarterly net profit.

The top gainers among H-shares were Ping An Insurance Group Co of China Ltd up 5.49 per cent, followed by New China Life Insurance Co Ltd gaining 4.17 per cent and China Pacific Insurance Group Co Ltd by 4.12 per cent.

The three biggest H-shares percentage decliners were China Shenhua Energy Co Ltd, down 1.42 per cent, China Longyuan Power Group Corp Ltd which lost 1.4 per cent and Huaneng Power International Inc, off 1.3 per cent.

The sub-index of the Hang Seng index tracking energy shares dipped 0.2 per cent while the IT sector rose 1.9 per cent.

REUTERS