HK shares rally, tracking gains of global markets on US Fed debt program

BEIJING: Hong Kong shares rose to their highest in more than two weeks on Tuesday, tracking gains from the global markets after the US Federal Reserve widened its bond buying program.

At the close of trade, the Hang Seng index was up 567.14 points, or 2.39pc, at 24,344.09.

The Hang Seng China Enterprises index rose 2.19pc to 9,867.63.

The sub-index of the Hang Seng tracking energy shares rose 3.5pc, while the IT sector rose 4.45pc, the financial sector ended 1.78pc higher and the property sector rose 2.34pc.

Hong Kong shares rallied as the formal start of the Fed's corporate bond buying programme boosted short-term revival of the risk-on tone, wrote Pang Jinyi, a strategist at IG.

Hong Kong is moving towards a further relaxation of social gathering restrictions related to the coronavirus, Chief Executive Carrie Lam said on Tuesday, which also lifted sentiment.

China's main Shanghai Composite index closed up 1.44pc at 2,931.75 points, while the blue-chip CSI300 index ended up 1.51pc, both posting best daily gains since June 1.

Around the region, MSCI's Asia ex-Japan stock index was firmer by 2.51pc, while Japan's Nikkei index closed up 4.88pc.

The yuan was quoted at 7.0822 per US dollar at 08:11 GMT, 0.09pc firmer than the previous close of 7.0888.