By Sarah Turner
SYDNEY (MarketWatch) -- Hong Kong shares stayed firm on Thursday, with the Hang Seng Index (HK:HANGSENG 24,465, +319.91, +1.32%) up 1.2% at 24,415.54. The index closed at a 28-month high on Wednesday ahead of a decision by the U.S. Federal Reserve to buy more bonds to support the U.S. economy. Banking group HSBC Holdings PLC (HBC 53.91, +1.15, +2.18%) (UK:HSBA 670.00, 0.00, 0.00%) (HK:5 85.00, +2.50, +3.03%) rose 2.5%. The focus was also on the mining sector Thursday, with BHP Billiton Ltd. (AU:BHP 43.72, +1.09, +2.56%) (BHP 86.08, +1.17, +1.38%) shares up 2.6% in Sydney after Canada rejected its bid for Potash Corp. of Sasketchewan (POT 145.50, +0.52, +0.36%) (CA:POT 146.21, -0.06, -0.04%) . The Australian S&P/ASX 200 index (AU:XJO 4,745, +22.73, +0.48%) rose 0.3%, while the Singapore Strait Times index gained 0.1%, India's Sensex (XX:SENSEX 20,813, +347.15, +1.70%) climbed 1.4%, and Japan's Nikkei Stock Average (JP:NI225 9,359, +198.80, +2.17%) and China's Shanghai Composite Index (CN:SHCOMP 3,075, +43.89, +1.45%) each rose 1.3%. |
