Hong Kong, mainland stocks breach major landmarks

Hong Kong and mainland stocks both registered major landmarks on Monday.

The Hang Seng Index now looks set to close above 28,000 for the first time since May 2015, with a gain of as much as 0.8 per cent in the morning session, while the Shanghai Composite Index rose to 3,360.17, cementing its breach of a major technical resistance at 3,300 on Friday.

The rally was buoyed by accelerated earnings by major Chines companies including China Life Insurance and PetroChina, and expectations the Federal Reserve will refrain from raising interest rates for the rest of the year.

The 39 companies that have already released first-half results on the 49-member Hang Seng Index posted an average of 30 per cent profit growth, compared with a 3 per cent decline for the previous six-month span, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.