HONG KONG—Hong Kong shares rose Tuesday as Chinese blue chips posted strong first-quarter results and positive sentiment spilled over from the Shanghai exchange.
The Hang Seng Index rose 247.86 points, or 0.97 percent, to 25,914.15. The Shanghai Composite Index rose 1.4 percent to 3,523.41 points.
Bank of China was among those companies that surprised the market, with its first-quarter net profit surging 85 percent from a year earlier to 21.7 billion Chinese yuan (US$3.1 billion; euro2 billion). Its Hong Kong-listed shares rose 1.3 percent to HK$3.94.
CIMB-GK Securities (HK) Ltd. said in a research report that the lender's first-quarter fee income rose 10 percent from the previous quarter despite a weak equity market in China.
Also in Hong Kong, oil refiner Sinopec outperformed the market, rising 2 percent to HK$8.22 as market participants focused on possible financial support from the Chinese government.
Beijing-based coal producer Shenhua Energy plunged 4 percent to HK$36.15, after London-based Anglo American sold its entire 0.78 percent stake in the company for US$708 million (euro453 million), or HK$35.45 a share.
