HK Stocks Rise After Final US Presidential Debate

Hong Kong shares finished the week on a high note but mainland markets fell as investors focused on US stimulus talks and the last presidential debate before next month's elections.

The Hang Seng Index added 132 points or 0.54 percent on Friday, closing at 24,918.

Market turnover was HK$111 billion.

Oil stocks were the top-gainers on the index, with the mainland giant CNOOC surging more than 7 percent.

It was a different story for tourism-related shares.

WWPKG Holdings, one of the largest travel agencies in Hong Kong, plunged over 80 percent on the day that the SAR government allowed local tour groups to have as many as 30 people, while Travel Expert dropped 7 percent.

Across the border, markets closed the week in the red over profit-taking in consumer and healthcare shares on worries about high valuations.

The Shanghai Composite Index and the blue-chip CSI-300 index each lost more than 1 percent.

Across the region, the Kospi in South Korea rebounded from Thursday's losses and gained 0.2 percent. Shares were boosted by optimism towards corporate earnings in the third quarter of this year.

Japan and Singapore also saw gains, but Taipei finished lower.