Hong Kong shares rose on Thursday, aided by strong China manufacturing data, while worries over Italy cooled. The Hang Seng index rose +1.4 percent, to 30,468.56, while the China Enterprises Index gained +1.8 percent, to 11,978.30 points. China's vast manufacturing sector grew at the fastest pace in eight months in May, blowing past expectations and easing concerns about an economic slowdown even as risks from trade tensions with the United States and a crackdown on debt point to a bumpy ride ahead.
The sub-index of the Hang Seng tracking energy shares rose 3.7 percent while the IT sector rose 1.04 percent, the financial sector was 1.35 percent higher and property sector rose 1.12 percent. The top gainer on Hang Seng was China Petroleum & Chemical Corp, up 6.09 percent, while the biggest loser was WH Group Ltd, which was down 0.74 percent. As of the previous trading session, the Hang Seng index was up 0.46 percent this year, while China's H-share index was up 0.5 percent. As of the previous close, the Hang Seng has declined 2.44 percent this month.
The top gainers among H-shares were China Petroleum & Chemical Corp, up 6.09 percent, followed by Anhui Conch Cement Co Ltd, gaining 5.6 percent, and Huaneng Power International Inc, up by 4.3 percent. About 4.24 billion Hang Seng index shares were traded, roughly 257.6 percent of the market's 30-day moving average of 1.64 billion shares a day. The volume traded in the previous trading session was 2.48 billion.