Hong Kong: Shares rise on strength in US, China markets

[HONG KONG] Hong Kong shares ended more than 1 per cent higher on Thursday, encouraged by a rally on Wall Street and a robust rebound in mainland markets.

The Hang Seng index rose 1.4 per cent, to 22,500.22, while the China Enterprises Index also gained 1.4 per cent, to 10,193.11 points.

US stocks rose sharply on Thursday after minutes from the most recent Federal Reserve policy meeting strengthened expectations for a rate hike in December, a move that would remove lingering uncertainty in financial markets. "A US rate hike won't have any negative impact on the market because it has been talked about so much," said Wayne Shen, Shanghai-based fund manager at Ivy Assets.

He added that many Hong Kong stocks were much cheaper than their mainland peers, so some would become acquisition targets of Chinese companies looking for growth.

All major sectors rose, with energy and financials leading the gains.

Geely Automobile Holdings jumped more than 5 per cent, after the Chinese automaker said it planned to concentrate entirely on developing green energy vehicles, eschewing traditional combustion engines and completely overhauling its product portfolio.

REUTERS