HSI ends up 558 pts at 31,431; turnover at HK$96.8bn

    HK stocks closed sharply higher on Wednesday on volatile and subdued trade, shrugging off the 254-point slide of the Dow overnight. The Hang Seng Index opened up 176 points to 31,050 on the back of the oil majors. It then pared its gains to only 12 points. But in afternoon trade, the index briefly soared 604 points at one stage to an intra-day high of 31,477, boosted by Chinese financials and Tencent (00700).
  The Hang Seng Index ended up 558 points or 1.8% to 31,431. The H-share index rose 290 points or 2.3% to 12,686. Turnover decreased to HK$96.8 billion from HK$107.8 billion on Tuesday.
  Chinese lenders led the market up today. CCB (00939) added 2.8% to HK$8.56. ABC (01288) jumped 4.2 % to HK$4.49. BOC (03988) put on 2.6% to HK$4.42. ICBC (01398) gained 3.3% to HK$7.11. BankComm (03328) shot up 3.2% to HK$6.41.  
  Oil majors were higher as US crude futures contract for delivery in April settled up 24 cents at US$61.79 a barrel overnight. CNOOC (00883) rose 2.7% to HK$11.64. Sinopec (00386) gained 3.7% to HK$6.42. PetroChina (00857) put on 2.8% to HK$5.57.
  Macau gaming counters were mixed. Galaxy Entertainment (00027) inched down 0.1% to HK$67.95. Sands China (01928) gained 0.6% to HK$45.35. MGM China (02282) jumped 1.5% to HK$23.75.
  HSBC (00005) rebounded 0.8% to HK$81.6 after early decline. The global bank yesterday reported 2017 earnings, which came in lower than market expectations. But Morgan Stanley retained its "overweight" call on the bank. Hang Seng Bank (00011) added 1.7% to HK$192.5. Morgan rated the bank HK$220.