HONG KONG: Hong Kong shares extended gains to end firmer on Friday, scoring its best week in three months, as capital outflow worries eased after the U.S. dollar took a breather from its post-election rally.
The benchmark Hang Seng index finished 0.2 percent higher, at 22,503.01 points, bringing its weekly gain to nearly 2.3 percent, the highest since Oct. 7. The Hong Kong China Enterprises Index gained 0.1 percent, to 9,611.05 points.
Traders attributed the market’s bounce the previous session to a pullback in the dollar after the Federal Reserve’s minutes signalled a more prudent stance to interest rate hikes rather than a surge in offshore yuan.
A pause in the U.S. dollar’s rise offered some solace to Asian stocks, which were under pressure in December on worries about capital flowing out of emerging markets amid hopes of faster U.S. growth.
The dollar index, which tracks the greenback against six major world currencies, hit a low of 101.37 in early trade, around 2.4 percent down from an intraday high set on Tuesday.
Reflecting less investor anxiety in the city, the HIS Volatility Index, a gauge of market stress, lost 18.5 percent from a high set on Dec. 28.
