Hong Kong shares finished higher on Thursday as sentiment was boosted by news that the US Federal Reserve could make three cuts to interest rates this year after deciding to hold rates steady at its most recent meeting.
The Hang Seng Index shot up 1.93%, or 320.03 points, to finish the day's trade at 16,863.10. The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index (HSCEI) jumped 1.75%, or 101.28 points, to 5,905.27.
Overnight, the US central bank left the target rate unchanged at 5.25% to 5.5% and noted that inflation pressures had eased "substantially".
The Fed's signal "has provided relief to the markets. It allows investors in the China and Hong Kong market to focus on both fundamentals and policy initiatives," Ray Sharma-Ong, Investment Director of Multi-Asset at abrdn, said.
"We see room for Chinese equity to generate further upside given cheap valuations and with room for earnings to be revised further upwards," Ong added.
In corporate news, Pop Mart International Group (HKG:9992) advanced over 16% after reporting a 127.5% profit surge for 2023 to 1.08 billion yuan as revenue climbed 36.5% year over year to 6.3 billion yuan.
Meanwhile, fertilizer maker Migao Group Holdings (HKG:9879) ended virtually unchanged on its market debut at HK$4.09. The company raised net proceeds of HK$784.2 million from the IPO.