HONG KONG: Hong Kong shares closed at a three-week high on Thursday as a rally in China Life Insurance Co Ltd and other insurers on the back of low valuations and speculation over an expansion of investment rules, helping the benchmark stock index outperform Asian peers.
The Hang Seng Index finished up 1.03 percent at 20,995.01. The China Enterprises Index ended up 1.38 percent at 11,047.43.
On the mainland, the Shanghai Composite Index closed flat.
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* Chinese insurers rose on Thursday in strong volume in Hong Kong and Shanghai on speculation that China's industry regulator would expand investment options for the sector. New China Life Insurance Co Ltd, which went public last December, rose 8.4 percent in more than three times its 30-day average volume in Shanghai to a record high. Its Hong Kong-listed shares gained 5.6 percent.
Turnover in Hong Kong was the lowest since Jan. 13 and 22 percent below the average over the past month despite a late bout of short-covering as the Hang Seng Index approached its 50-day moving average. Market participants cautiously eyed further developments in Europe, with a key Spanish bond auction later in the day set to test investor confidence in that country's debt-laden economy.
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