Local Shares Give Back Early Gains At Close

Regional shares rose on the lead of Wall Street following upbeat US jobs and growth data on Friday.

Fresh recovery optimism led Wall Street higher overnight, and the Hang Seng Index took the cue to start in positive territory.

But its upward momentum lost steam and the benchmark dipped into the red after lunchtime. The index struggled to climb back up for the rest of the day and finished up 11 points, at 29,124, on turnover of HK$172.7 billion.

For the week, the local benchmark advanced 2.3 percent.

CK Asset soared 5.8 percent to become the day's blue-chip winner, after JP Morgan lifted its target price on the developer noting the response to its share buy-back offer.

Banks also fared well. HSBC jumped 3.8 percent. Hang Seng Bank rallied 2.9 percent. Bank of China Hong Kong gained 2.3 percent.

The MTR Corporation put on 1.8 percent, after the rail operator and the government announced that the new Tuen-Ma Line will come into full operation next month.

But mainland hotpot chain Haidilao sank 6.9 percent to become the worst performer on the benchmark.

Healthcare stocks were also under pressure. Ali Health and Wuxi Biologics each slid more than five percent. Sino Biopharmaceutical gave up 4.4 percent.

Shares across the border headed south but they still posted their best week in more than three months, after a strong yuan drew inflows into mainland equities.

The Shanghai Composite Index retreated 0.2 percent, while the blue-chip CSI300 index declined 0.3 percent. The Shenzhen Composite shed nearly 0.25 percent.

Around the region, shares in Japan jumped on bargain-hunting and positive sentiment from the country's vaccination rollout, bringing the Nikkei up 2.1 percent.

The Kospi in Seoul added 0.7 percent. Taiwan rose 1.6 percent. Australia gained 1.2 percent. Singapore was about 0.4 percent firmer.