Hong Kong Stocks Gain After U.S. Record Highs

Hong Kong stocks headed higher Tuesday morning, boosted by fresh record highs on Wall Street overnight. The Hang Seng Index rose 0.3%, heading for a fourth consecutive session of gains. The Hang Seng China Enterprises index gained 0.4%. Index heavyweight China Mobile Ltd. moved up 0.5%. Other mainland mobile carriers also advanced, with China Telecom Corp. Ltd. adding 0.9%, and China Unicom (Hong Kong) Ltd. up 0.4%. Among other market heavyweights, Chinese online major Tencent Holdings Ltd. improved by 0.7%, Asian life insurer AIA Group Ltd. tacked on 0.6%, and Sino-British banking giant HSBC Holdings plc zoomed 0.4% higher. However, Chinese energy stocks were under pressure, after international crude prices fell again. PetroChina Co. Ltd. declined 1%, Cnooc Ltd. fell 0.9%, and Kunlun Energy Co. Ltd. dropped 0.8%. Refiner China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation, or Sinopec , edged down 0.2%. Chinese insurers also posted broad-based declines, with People's Insurance Company (Group) of China Ltd. leading the losses with a 1.4% fall. Over on the mainland, the Shanghai Composite Index retreated 1.4%. Elsewhere in Asia, Sydney's S&P/ASX 200 lost 0.6%. Japan markets were closed on Tuesday for the Emperor's Birthday holiday.