Hong Kong Shares Rise Again, Shanghai Gains 1.4%

Hong Kong stocks finished with more gains on Thursday, in line with advances across Asia following another record-breaking lead from Wall Street.

The Hang Seng Index rose 0.3 percent, to 26,210.

On the mainland, the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index climbed 1.4 percent, to 3,450 while the Shenzhen Composite Index jumped 2.7 percent, to 2,257.

Tokyo ended 0.4 percent higher, while Sydney added 0.6 percent following Wednesday's sharp drop as Australia's second-biggest city Melbourne imposed a fresh lockdown on five million residents to combat a new virus outbreak.

Seoul, Taipei, Mumbai, Bangkok and Jakarta were also higher. However, Singapore, Wellington and Manila fell.

The easing of lockdowns and a healthy run of economic data have provided a boost to world markets in recent weeks – with some up around 30-40 percent from March lows – though the major driver has been the trillions of dollars in stimulus and cheap credit.

"The US is also likely to continue its spending spree in August, with up to US$1 trillion of additional stimulus, and should the EU's package be nearly as big as the initial proposal, liquidity won't be an issue in the developed world this year," said Ken Berman at Gorilla Trades.

"China is also in the midst of an unprecedented liquidity 'experiment' and should the global economic recovery remain on track risk assets could be on fire in the second half of the year. Stay tuned!"

But uncertainty about the outlook, along with an expectation that borrowing costs will remain anchored for some time, have sent gold prices soaring about a fifth this year and are now sitting above US$1,800 for the first time since 2011.

"The commodity is still popular with certain traders as there are concerns that a second wave of Covid-19 could be on the cards," said David Madden at CMC Markets. (AFP)