Hong Kong: Shares extend gains on mainland's economic stimulus

[HONG KONG] Hong Kong shares finished up following a volatile session on Thursday, a day after the mainland's central bank rolled out stimulus measures.

China's central bank lowered the reserve requirement ratio (RRR) for all commercial banks by 50 basis points on Wednesday to help boost bank lending.

Analysts said that, while the Hong Kong market ended firmer, profit taking was a feature of Thursday's trade as investors sought to reduce exposure due to concerns over China's economic slowdown.

The Hang Seng index rose 0.4 per cent, to 24,765.49, while the China Enterprises Index gained 0.2 per cent, to 11,789.19 points.

Among the most actively traded stocks on Hong Kong's main board were China Construction Bank, up 1.9 per cent at HK$6.39, Bank Of China, up 1.6 per cent at HK$4.40 and ICBC, up 1.8 per cent at HK$5.67.

Total trading volume of companies included in the HSI index was 2.4 billion shares.

REUTERS