Hong Kong shares ended 0.10 per cent higher on Friday, after a widely expected European Central Bank interest rate cut and a positive US jobless claims report.
The benchmark Hang Seng Index added 21.66 points to end at 22,689.96 on turnover of HK$56.23 billion.
On Thursday ECB policymakers trimmed a quarter point off the key “refi” refinancing rate, to a record low of 0.50 per cent.
The widely expected ECB move is part of efforts to increase demand and encourage growth in the debt-stricken eurozone.
Markets also responded positively to a better-than-expected US Labor Department report showing new claims for unemployment benefits had fallen to a five-year low.
The claims -- an indicator of the pace of layoffs – fell by 18,000 to 324,000, the lowest level since mid-January 2008.
New World Development jumped 3.3 per cent, leading blue-chip gains. It was aided by its plan to diverge three of its Hong Kong hotels for a separate listing.