HONG KONG: Hong Kong shares rose on Monday encouraged by bullish Chinese markets reacting to Beijing’s rate cuts over the weekend as well as strong U.S. stock markets after strong jobs data.
The People’s Bank of China said on Sunday it was lowering its benchmark one-year lending and deposit rates by 25 basis points, the third cut in six months, to help support an economy headed for its slowest growth in a quarter of a century.
Hong Kong markets also took its cue from a more than 1 percent rise in U.S. stock indexes on Friday, after strong jobs data indicated U.S. economic growth was picking up momentum, but not enough to raise concerns about an earlier-than-expected interest-rate rise by the Federal Reserve.
The Hang Seng index rose 0.5 percent, to 27,718.20, while the China Enterprises Index gained 1.0 percent, to 14,182.98 points.
