HSI Boosted By Fed, White House

Shares in Hong Kong posted healthy gains for a second day on Thursday, as the broader region mostly advanced after US President Joe Biden outlined his huge spending plan to Congress, and the Federal Reserve gave an upbeat outlook for the US economy while repeating its pledge to keep its accommodative monetary policy.

The Hang Seng Index put on as many as 333 points during the day, before finishing 231 points, or 0.8 percent higher, at 29,303.

Market turnover was at HK$119.7 billion.

Financials headed different ways. Insurer AIA was among the best blue-chip performers, surging 3.7 percent, after Daiwa upped its target price on the stock. HSBC put on 1.8 percent, continuing its upward momentum since its earnings release earlier this week.

But Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing tumbled 1.8 percent to become the biggest loser on the index, despite reporting record quarterly results a day earlier.

Tencent added 0.6 percent following a report saying Beijing is planning to fine the tech giant at least 10 billion yuan – less than Alibaba's record 18.2 billion for antitrust violations.

Standard Chartered surged 4.4 percent after its first quarter profit beat estimates.

Across the border, the Shanghai Composite index edged up 0.5 percent, while the blue-chip CSI300 index rose 0.9 percent. And the Shenzhen Composite eked out 0.2 percent in gains.

Elsewhere, the Nikkei in Japan inched up 0.2 percent. Australia was 0.3 percent higher. But Seoul's Kospi slipped 0.2 percent, while Singapore and Taiwan were flat.