SHANGHAI Hong Kong stocks rose on Thursday (March 23), as investor sentiment was lifted after the US Federal Reserve (Fed) raised interest rates but softened its tone on future hikes, though Chinese equities were mixed.

China's blue-chip CSI 300 Index climbed 0.4% by the lunch break, while the Shanghai Composite Index was little changed.

Hong Kong's benchmark Hang Seng Index was up 0.8%, and the China Enterprises Index rose 0.9%.

The Fed on Wednesday raised rates by a quarter of a percentage point, but indicated that it was on the verge of pausing further increases after the recent collapse of two US banks.

Following the Fed's move, the Hong Kong central bank on Thursday raised its base rate charged through the overnight discount window by 25 basis points to 5.25%. As the city's currency is pegged to the greenback in a tight range, Hong Kong's monetary policy moves in lock-step with the US.

Investors' risk sentiments towards Hong Kong shares may be corrected after the Fed "dovishly" raised interest rates and the Swiss and US regulators quickly responded the banking crisis with policy support, Huatai Securities wrote in a note.

Tech giants traded in Hong Kong jumped 1.6%, with Tencent soaring 5.6% after its earnings release.

For the Chinese market, CSI 5G Communication shares jumped 2.7%, information technology stocks added 2.4%, and semiconductor shares gained 1.8%.

China Evergrande Group on Wednesday announced plans for the restructuring of US$22.7 billion in offshore debt. China's CSI Real Estate Index dropped 0.9%, and Hong Kong's Property Index slid 0.7%.

  - Reuters