HSI Soars Brushing Aside Worry About Security Law

Hong Kong stocks went into the break more than 1 percent higher on Thursday, in line with an Asia-wide advance and despite worries about a new security law imposed on the city by Beijing.

The Hang Seng Index rose 1.5 percent, to 24,788.

On the mainland, the Shanghai Composite Index rose 1.2 percent, to 3,061, while the Shenzhen Composite Index gained 0.9 percent, to 2,008.

Tokyo ended the morning 0.7 percent higher and Sydney put on more than 1 percent.

Seoul, Taipei, Singapore, Jakarta and Wellington were also well up.

The gains came after another all-time high for the tech-heavy Nasdaq on Wall Street, with investors now awaiting the release of key US June jobs data later in the day for a better grip on the economy following May's surprise jump in employment.

"There's this inherent tension between health of the economy and health of the population," David Lebovitz, a strategist at JPMorgan Asset Management, said. "It's going to be the way to think about what drives markets over the next couple of weeks or months." (AFP)

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