Hong Kong stocks rose 44.39 points, or 0.29 percent to close at 15,258.85 on Friday as investors remain cautious ahead of the "pressure test" results of 19 U.S. banks.
The benchmark Hang Seng Index opened 2.91 points higher and edged down to the lowest 15,062.29 before staging a rally to the day-high of 15,367.48.
Hong Kong stocks slid as much as 100 points in the afternoon trading. To investors' relief, the index managed to retrieve some ground and closed slightly higher.
Market turnover was 51.7 billion HK dollars, down 875 million HK dollars from the previous day, making Friday the second straight day that registered turnover shrink.
Analysts say investors refrained from playing big and have been waiting for a clear market signal that may be reflected in the upcoming "pressure test" report.
U.S. Federal Reserve is expected to explain on Friday the criteria against which the U.S. leading banks were tested for their capabilities in withstanding losses.
Heavyweight HSBC scored a 0.3-percent rise to 52.7 HK dollars. China Mobile lost 0.4 percent to 69.10 HK dollars and HSE was up 1. 82 percent to 89.4 HK dollars as the market operator's new board of directors took office.
Oil companies moved up after crude prices rose to settle near 50 U.S. dollars per barrel overnight.
China's largest oil producer Sinopec was up 0.51 percent to 5. 97 HK dollars; offshore oil producer CNOOC rose 1.27 percent to 8.75 HK dollars and the country's leading oil refiner PetroChina gained 0.29 percent to 6.81 HK dollars.
Coal stock China Shenhua was 1.46 percent higher to 20.8 HK, retrieving its loss over the previous day.
Hong Kong-listed mainland financial companies put on varied performances.
China's largest lender ICBC fell 2.5 percent to 4.24 HK dollars, China Construction Bank up 0.9 percent to 4.42 HK dollars, Bank of Communications down 0.16 percent and Bank of China 0.35 percent lower.
Insurer China Life rose 0.55 percent to 27.5 HK dollars and Ping An down 0.29 percent.
Properties stocks were heading higher. Cheung Kong rose 2.3 percent to 79.2 HK dollars, New World up 1.7 percent and Henderson Land up 2.4 percent.
Gold stocks hiked after an official from China's State Administration of Foreign Exchange said that China has become the fifth biggest holder of gold in the world with 1,054 tonnes of reserves.
Zijin Mining was up 7.23 percent to 6.23 HK dollars and ZhaojinMining advanced 9 percent to 10.9 HK dollars.
China's juice maker Huiyuan outperformed many by spiking 13.44 percent to 5.74 HK dollars after a Wall Street Journal report, saying the company was in fresh talks with Coca Cola on selling a minority of its shares.(7.7425 HK dollars = 1 U.S. dollar)
Source: Xinhua
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