SHANGHAI: Hong Kong stocks rose on Friday, tracking gains in global markets on growing expectations that the US Federal Reserve will wait longer before raising interest rates.
Expectations that Beijing will soon announce more stimulus measures to shore up the slowing economy also put investors in a buying mood heading into what promises to be a volatile earnings season.
China’s flagship indexes extended Thursday’s 3 percent gains.
Hong Kong’s benchmark Hang Seng Index rose 1.7 percent and looked set for a weekly gain of 5.7 percent, which would be its biggest in six months.
The blue-chip CSI300 index rose 0.8 percent to 3,324.24 points by midday, while the Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.7 percent to 3,165.26.
Risk appetite appears to have improved after minutes of the Federal Reserve’s September meeting reinforced doubts that the central bank will hike interest rates this year.
