Hong Kong share prices posted their third consecutive gain yesterday, buoyed by another record close on Wall Street on Monday and speculation that HSBC might tie up with United States investment bank JP Morgan.
In contrast to Monday's dull session, there were also major corporate announcements from developer Sino Land and Hang Seng Bank, but these failed to boost turnover, which remained far below the $10 billion mark.
The Hang Seng Index finished 74 points, or 0.66 per cent, higher at 11,255.54. This increased its gains in the past three sessions to 353.07 points.
The market jumped at the opening and advanced to an intraday high of 11,349.28 following the record close of the Dow Jones Industrial Average.
Sassoon Securities dealing director Michael Ng said: 'The strong opening was on the back of the Wall Street record close and the weakness towards the close came on profit-taking and futures-related trade.' Turnover was $6.81 billion, compared with the $8.62 billion daily average in the past three months.
Brokers said lower interbank rates helped sentiment.
