HONG KONG: Hong Kong shares closed higher on Wednesday, extending gains from the previous session, helped by energy and tech firms and a sharp rebound in U.S. stocks overnight.

At the close of trade, the Hang Seng index was up 131.00 points, or 0.57%, at 23,102.33. The Hang Seng China Enterprises index rose 0.66% to 8,195.23.

Leading the gains, the sub-index of the Hang Seng tracking energy shares rose 0.9% and the IT sector rose 0.76%.

The three major indexes in the U.S. posted strong gains overnight as risk appetite rises heading into year-end, despite the surging number of Omicron COVID-19 variant cases around the world.

China has the confidence, condition, and ability to keep economic growth at a reasonable level, a senior state planning official told the Xinhua News Agency.