Hong Kong shares end with sharp gains

HONG KONG: Hong Kong stocks closed sharply higher Wednesday, in line with healthy gains across Asia on optimism about the outlook for next month's China-US trade talks and following Beijing's decision to further open up its financial markets.

The Hang Seng Index rallied 1.78 percent, or 475.38 points, to 27,159.06.

However, the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.41 percent, or 12.39 points, to 3,008.81 and the Shenzhen Composite Index, which tracks stocks on China's second exchange, slipped 0.93 percent, or 15.77 points, to 1,671.54.