Hong Kong shares closed 0.28 percent higher on Thursday following a third straight rally on Wall Street. The benchmark Hang Seng Index ended up 64.23 points at 22,760.24 on turnover of HK$42.80 billion (US $5.52 billion). The index added to gains the previous day which came after China said growth in the world's number two economy expanded 7.4 percent year-on-year in January-March.
While the figure was lower than the 7.7 percent seen in the final three months of last year, it was slightly up on the 7.3 percent median forecast in a survey of 13 economists by AFP. Traders were given a lift by the rise on Wall Street. The three main indexes jumped after the Fed's closely watched Beige Book report said the economy was showing clear signs of picking up after being caught by a severe winter freeze.
Separately, Fed boss Janet Yellen said she still believed there was a need to keep ultra-low rates well into next year and that she saw no threat from inflation. The Dow rose 1.00 percent and the S&P 500 surged 1.05 percent. The Nasdaq - which was hammered last week on fears tech stocks may be overvalued - jumped 1.29 percent, with further help from a strong earnings report from Yahoo.
Internet giant Tencent rose 0.77 percent to HK$525.5, China Mobile eased 0.15 percent to HK$71.95, CCB bank gained 0.93 percent to HK$5.45 and Cathay Pacific Airways slipped 0.79 percent to HK$15.04. HSBC edged down 0.06 percent to HK$80.25 and Henderson Land Development added 0.54 percent to HK$46.40. In China, the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index slipped 0.30 percent, or 6.24 points, to 2,098.88 on turnover of 74.3 billion yuan ($11.9 billion).
The Shenzhen Composite Index, which tracks stocks on China's second exchange, edged up 0.11 percent, or 1.17 points, to 1,086.23 on turnover of 83.0 billion yuan. There was little effect from news that China's cabinet said it would allow a cut in the reserve requirements for some county-level commercial banks and co-operative banks in rural areas as Beijing tries to provide support to the economy.
"The market performance is quite normal given that the cut, targeted only at county-level banks, won't have much widespread impact," Haitong Securities analyst Zhang Qi told AFP. "The latest economic figures aren't so bad, so there won't be much easing either in regulation or policies, as many had expected," he added. Property developers led the declines. China Fortune Land Development lost 3.60 percent to 28.89 yuan while Poly Real Estate fell 1.53 percent to 7.73 yuan. Pessimism towards the property sector carried over to cement firms. Anhui Conch cement dropped 2.56 percent to 17.54 yuan and Zhejiang Jianfeng Group shed 0.96 percent to 10.37 yuan.
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