HONG KONG: Hong Kong stocks traded higher for a fourth straight day, as the Hang Seng Index HSI, +0.11% rose 0.2%, tracking gains for U.S. stocks. The mainland-China-tracking Hang Seng China Enterprises Index HSCEI, +0.48% advanced 0.9%. Oil stocks rallied after U.S. oil futures settled near a two-week high, with Cnooc Ltd. 0883, +2.14% CEO, +1.93% climbing 1.8% and refiner China Petroleum & Chemical Corp., or Sinopec, 0386, +0.88% SNP, +4.04% cracking 1.2% higher. PetroChina Co. 0857, +2.82% 601857, +0.78% PTR, +1.90% China’s largest oil and gas producer, jumped 3.8% after the company announced it had named Wang Yilin as its new chairman, effective Tuesday, and after a Wednesday report by Caixin quoted PetroChina’s president as saying business was better than expected in the first half of this year. Gome Electrical Appliances Holding Ltd. 0493, +0.53% GMELY, -0.08% one of China’s largest home-appliance retailers, rose 0.5% saying it plans to acquire Beijing-based consumer-electronics retailer Dazhong Electronics for more than 3.8 billion yuan ($608 million). Among other market movers, China Unicom Hong Kong Ltd. 0762, +1.13% CHU, +2.78% improved by 2.1%, and China Telecom Corp. 0728, -0.41% CHA, +3.14% traded 1.2% higher after reports said the mobile operator may largely cut its international roaming fees this week to win over more customers. However, China Mobile Ltd. 0941, -2.01% CHL, +2.73% China’s largest telecom, declined 1.5%. Meanwhile, over on the mainland, the Shanghai Composite Index SHCOMP, +0.91% added to its previous rally by rising another 1.5%.
