HONG KONG: Hong Kong shares rose on Thursday after an upbeat economic outlook from the US Federal Reserve boosted global risk sentiment, while the healthcare sector jumped more than 3% to snap a four-day slump.

At the close of trade, the Hang Seng index was up 54.74 points, or 0.23%, at 23,475.50. The Hang Seng China Enterprises index rose 0.08% to 8,349.65.

The Federal Reserve said on Wednesday it would end its pandemic-era bond purchases in March and pave the way for three quarter-percentage-point interest rate hikes by the end of 2022 as the economy nears full employment and the US central bank copes with a surge of inflation. The subindex of the Hang Seng tracking energy shares rose 3.7%, the financial sector ended 0.08% higher and the property sector rose 0.71%.

Healthcare shares gained, led by a 11.3% jump in WuXi Biologics (Cayman) Inc on plans to repurchase shares. WuXi shares marked their biggest one-day rise since Oct. 2020, after slumping more than 19% on Wednesday. WuXi was the top gainer on the Hang Seng, while the biggest loser was Shenzhou International Group Holdings Ltd, which fell 4.58%.