Oil Price Rise Boosts Hong Kong, Regional Markets

Hong Kong shares rallied for a fourth straight day on Thursday, tracking a strong lead from Wall Street, as energy firms soared on the back of oil prices.

The Hang Seng Index rose 0.9 percent, to close at 30,809.

On the mainland, the Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.5 percent, to 3,174 and the Shenzhen Composite Index gained 0.5 percent, to 1,844.

Tokyo stocks closed higher, but investors remained cautious amid a Japanese corporate earnings season. The benchmark Nikkei 225 index rose 0.4 percent, to 22,497.

Sydney added 0.2 percent and Seoul was 0.8 percent higher, while Wellington, Taipei and Manila were deep in positive territory. Singapore was flat while Malaysian markets were closed for the general election.

Both main oil contracts, which rose around 3 percent overnight on Wednesday, were almost 1 percent up in Asia.

The gains fed into energy firms with Woodside Petroleum surging 5.1 percent in Sydney, CNOOC almost 3 percent in Hong Kong and Tokyo-listed Inpex piling on 3.4 percent. (AFP)