Hong Kong shares nudged higher on Tuesday, partly on short-covering ahead of emergency G7 talks on the euro zone debt crisis, although investors remained reluctant to take on fresh positions because of the increasingly gloomy global outlook.
The Hang Seng index closed up 0.4 percent at 18,259.03. The China Enterprises index finished 0.2 percent higher with gold mining companies and financials among the top gainers.
On the mainland, the Shanghai Composite ended the day up 0.2 percent while the large-cap focused CSI300 was little changed.
HIGHLIGHTS:
* Turnover on the Hong Kong exchange was among the lowest seen all year and 30 percent below the average over the past month, at $4.7 billion. Investors have yet to recover from The Hang Seng's 12 percent slump in May while the outlook for global economic growth remains grim.
* Hong Kong property was broadly stronger after Bank of American Merrill Lynch said in a note to clients rewards outweigh the risks of buying into the sector at current levels.
The brokerage now projects Hong Kong residential prices to rise 5 to 10 percent in 2012 versus a prior forecast that called for a 10 percent decline largely due to the resilient performance of homes prices in the year-to-date. - Reuters