Hong Kong shares close higher on HSBC's earnings beat

Hong Kong shares ended higher on Friday, after heavyweight HSBC Holdings Plc's earnings beat estimates, lifting sentiment on an otherwise quiet day as mainland Chinese markets remained closed for a holiday. ** At the close of trade, the Hang Seng index was up 0.5 percent at 30,081.55. The benchmark climbed 1.6 percent week-on-week. ** The Hang Seng China Enterprises index rose 0.2 percent. The index gained 0.6 percent this week. ** The sub-index of the Hang Seng index tracking the financial sector ended 0.8 percent higher, the property sector sub-index rose 0.5 percent, while energy shares dipped 0.7 percent and the IT sector lost 0.3 percent. ** HSBC beat forecast with a 31 percent rise in first quarter profit, bolstered by a surge in income from its core Asian business and lower costs that outweighed a poor performance from investment banking. ** Hong Kong-listed shares of the bank climbed as much as 2.9 pct, a seven-month high, after the results. The stock was the second-most traded in early afternoon trade. ** Shares of Hang Seng Bank Ltd, part of the HSBC group, rose as much as 2.6 pct to HK$209.80, their highest since Oct. 10, after the lender declared higher interim dividend. ** China financial markets are shut for Labour Day holiday. Trading will resume on Monday, May 6. ** To mark the ascension of Japan's new emperor, the government had declared an unprecedented 10-day holiday from late April to early May. Japan markets will be back in action on May 7. ** On Wall Street, the Dow and S&P gave up initial gains and turned negative on Thursday as the energy sector weakened. ** Global investors await the release of April's U.S. nonfarm payrolls, due later on Friday, which probably increased by 185,000 jobs last month after rising 196,000 in March, according to a Reuters survey of economists. ** Techtronic Industries Co Ltd, up 4.3 percent, was the top gainer on the Hang Sang index, while CNOOC Ltd , which fell 1.6 percent, was the biggest loser. ** The top gainers among H-shares were China Railway Group Ltd , up 2.5 percent, followed by Shenzhou International Group Holdings Ltd and Conch Cement Co Ltd, that gained 2.3 percent and 1.9 percent, respectively. ** About 1.26 billion Hang Seng index shares were traded. The volume traded in the previous trading session was 1.34 billion. (Reporting by Noah Sin; Editing by Rashmi Aich)