Hong Kong shares rose on Thursday after an upbeat economic outlook from the US Federal Reserve boosted global risk sentiment, while the healthcare sector jumped more than 3 percent to snap a four-day slump.
At the close of trade, the Hang Seng index was up 54.74 points, or 0.23 percent, at 23,475.50. The Hang Seng China Enterprises index rose 0.08 percent to 8,349.65.
The Federal Reserve said on Wednesday it would end its pandemic-era bond purchases in March and pave the way for three quarter-percentage-point interest rate hikes by the end of 2022 as the economy nears full employment and the US central bank copes with a surge of inflation.
The subindex of the Hang Seng tracking energy shares rose 3.7 percent, the financial sector ended 0.08 percent higher and the property sector rose 0.71 percent.
Healthcare shares gained, led by a 11.3 percent jump in WuXi Biologics (Cayman) Inc on plans to repurchase shares. WuXi shares marked their biggest one-day rise since Oct 2020, after slumping more than 19 percent on Wednesday.
WuXi was the top gainer on the Hang Seng, while the biggest loser was Shenzhou International Group Holdings Ltd, which fell 4.58 percent.
The IT sector trimmed earlier losses to end the day down 0.44 percent.