Hong Kong Stocks Advance First In Three Sessions

Advancing for the first session in three days, the Hang Seng index was boosted by news that HSBC Holdings PLc was a approached by the Shanghai Stock Exchange in attempts to allow the lender to list its shares on the exchange. Boosting the brand visibility in one of the world’s fastest growing markets, the offer comes as an opportunity to exploit the recent speculative runup in the country. Benchmark stock indexes in the country have more than doubled in the last year as investors seek to retain higher returns on domestic capital. Shares of Europe’s largest bank by market value were runup HK$1.10 to HK$145.40 in the overnight. As a result, the Hang Seng benchmark index added 69.51 points to close at 20,388.49. Notably, China Citic Bank Corp shares lost 5 cents to close at HK$6.52. Holding the world’s biggest initial public offering this year, the lender said it sold blocks totaling 732.8 million in Hong Kong at the offer price of HK$5.86 each.