Hong Kong stocks end higher aided by sharp rebound in technology shares

Hong Kong stocks ended higher on Wednesday, aided by a sharp rebound in technology shares, despite a sell-off on Wall Street.

The Hang Seng index rose 0.5 per cent, to 25,971.47, while the China Enterprises Index gained 0.2 per cent, to 10,486.07.

A fund manager at PICC said Hong Kong stocks drew some support from late afternoon strength in the China market, while some investors hunted for bargains in oversold tech stocks.

Investors have also said the meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Donald Trump at the forthcoming G20 conference in Argentina gives the market some breathing space, but whether a trade deal can be reached between the two countries is far from certain.

The sub-index of the Hang Seng tracking energy shares dipped 1.6 per cent, while the IT sector rose 2.47 per cent, the financial sector ended 0.48 per cent higher and the property sector rose 0.5 per cent.

The top gainer on the Hang Seng was Country Garden Holdings Co Ltd, which rose 4.88 per cent, while the biggest loser was CNOOC Ltd, which fell 2.45 per cent.

Around the region, MSCI's Asia ex-Japan stock index was weaker by 0.1 per cent, while Japan's Nikkei index closed down 0.35 per cent.

The yuan was quoted at 6.9393 per U.S. dollar at 08:35 GMT, 0.09 per cent firmer than the previous close of 6.9455.

The top gainers among H-shares were ZhongAn Online P & C Insurance Co Ltd, up 4.95 per cent, followed by Great Wall Motor Co Ltd, gaining 4.21 per cent, and China Galaxy Securities Co Ltd, up by 3.13 per cent.

The three biggest H-shares percentage decliners were Byd Co Ltd, which was down 2.73 per cent, CNOOC Ltd, which fell 2.4 per cent, and PetroChina Co Ltd, down by 2.0 per cent.