Shares in Hong Kong and Shanghai soared Thursday following another record close on Wall Street, while mainland investors looked to capitalise on a recent rally.
The Hang Seng Index jumped 1.72 percent, or 403.94 points, to 23,832.56 on turnover of HK$117.48 billion ($15.16 billion).
Shanghai surged 4.31 percent, with the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index soaring 119.93 points to 2,899.46 on turnover of 509.2 billion yuan ($82.9 billion).
The Shenzhen Composite Index, which tracks stocks on China's second exchange, gained 2.00 percent, or 29.04 points, to 1,481.96 on turnover of 360.0 billion yuan.
Traders were given a strong lead from the United States, where the Dow and S&P 500 ended at new record highs in response to an upbeat report on the world's number one economy from the Federal Reserve.
The central bank's Beige Book stated “a number” of its 12 districts said analysts “remained optimistic about the outlook for future economic activity”.
The report, a collection of anecdotal information on current economic conditions, is closely watched by investors as a barometer of the health of the economy.
The news came a day after healthy construction and sales figures. On Wall Street the Dow rose 0.18 percent to its second straight record close, while the S&P 500 gained 0.38 percent, also a new all-time high, and the Nasdaq added 0.39 percent.
Among Hong Kong-listed firms Cathay Pacific Airways rose 1.61 percent to HK$17.68, Tencent added 0.42 percent to HK$118.20 and Sun Hung Kai Properties dipped 0.18 percent to HK$112.50.
HSBC put on 0.78 percent to HK$77.15, CNOOC jumped 4.77 percent to HK$10.98 and Tsingtao Brewery edged 0.63 percent higher to HK$56.05.
Mainland markets have surged around 20 percent since last month, helped by a surprise move by the People's Bank of China to cut interest rates in a bid to kickstart the world's number two economy.
“Chinese stocks have been on steroids as investors price in effects of potential stimulus,” said brokerage IG.
That decision, and a string of weak indicators, has led to speculation that Beijing will unveil fresh measures soon as the economy slows down.
“Investors are flooding into blue chip stocks with low valuations... the balloon in the stock market is being blown up and it has yet to burst,” Deng Wenyuan, an analyst at Soochow Securities, told Dow Jones Newswires.
On the Shanghai market, PetroChina surged by its 10 percent daily limit to 9.21 yuan and Sinopec also rose 10 percent to 6.25 yuan.
Also, Shanghai-listed Citic Securities Co. surged by its 10 percent daily limit to 21.07 yuan. Shenzhen-traded Hong Yuan Securities Co. similarly jumped 10 percent to 23.18 yuan. - AFP