At closing bell, the benchmark Hang Seng Index added 0.75%, or 208.81 points, to 27,996.27. The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index rose 1.08%, or 109.20 points, to 10,174.27.
The sub-index of the Hang Seng tracking the commerce & industry sector added 0.38%, while the finance sector added 0.95%, the properties sector rose 1.98%, and the utilities sector added 1.46%.
In testimony to the U.S. Congress, Fed Chair Jerome Powell said the U.S. economy was "still a ways off" from levels the central bank wanted to see before tapering its monetary support. He also said he is confident recent price hikes are associated with the country's post-pandemic reopening and will fade.
China's industrial production climbed an annual 8.3% in June, exceeding market expectations but down from 8.8% in May. Fixed asset investment jumped an annual 12.6%, slowing from 15.4% in the previous month. Retail sales expanded 12.1% year-on-year, after rising 12.4% in May. The jobless rate held steady at 5%.
China's gross domestic product was up 7.9% on year in the second quarter of 2021, the National Bureau of Statistics said on Thursday, down sharply from 18.3% in the three months prior. On a quarterly basis, GDP gained 1.3%, up from 0.6% in the previous three months.
Shares of banks and financials gained after the People's Bank of China unleashed a combined 110 billion yuan (US$17 billion) of liquidity through open-market operations and a cut in the reserve requirement ratio that kicked in on Thursday. China Construction Bank advanced 2.2% to HK$5.58. BOC Hong Kong and Industrial and Commercial Bank of China rallied by at least 1.6%.
BYD slumped 7.2% to HK$213.80 after one of its largest shareholders sold more H shares in the Chinese electric-vehicle maker.
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