Hong Kong stocks closed higher on Friday, snapping a four-day losing string, as China Mobile Ltd. rallied on separate reports the carrier recorded robust growth in 4G subscribers.
In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 regained 46.66 points, or 0.3%, to 15,708.65
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index returned from holiday to gain 131.58 points, or 0.6%, to 23,064.56
Markets in Shanghai and Seoul remained closed for a holiday
Shares of index heavyweight China Mobile spiked up 3.5%, after the state-run Xinhua News Agency reported Friday that the country’s largest wireless carrier has seen the number of its 4G users top 40 million, and has built more than 500,000 4G base stations across the country.
Meanwhile, other mainland media reported Chinese consumers rushed to reserve the iPhone 6 prior to its official launch on Oct. 17, with the reservations hitting two million within six hours after the three state-owned mobile carriers and various retail outlets began taking orders.
China Mobile’s smaller rival China Telecom Corp. Ltd. rose 0.4%, while China Unicom (Hong Kong) Ltd. edged down 0.3%.
Mainland real estate stocks posted significant gains after the People’s Bank of China recently unveiled a policy to loosen restrictions on home purchases. Index components China Overseas Land & Investment Ltd. and China Resources Land Ltd. leapt 6.1% and 5%, respectively.
Other top outperformers included Sunac China Holdings Ltd. surging 12.2%, Greentown China Holdings Ltd. climbing 8.9%, and Poly Property Group Co. Ltd. soaring 6.7%.
However, most local banks remained lower as pro-democracy protests persisted across the city. Sino-British banking giant HSBC Holdings PLC— the benchmark’s top-weighted component — dropped 1.1%, while Standard Chartered PLC fell by 3.5%, even as it reopened its branches closed by the protests. BOC Hong Kong Holding Ltd. slipped 0.2%.
In other markets;
The Taiex index in Taiwan bolted higher 131.09 points, or 1.5%, to 9,106.28
In Singapore, the Straits Times STI Index regained 24.53 points, or 0.8%, to 3,253.24
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 faded 8.24 points, or 0.2%, to 5,236.99
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 added 20.51 points, or 0.4%, to 5,318.21
