Hong Kong shares edged up to a three-week high Thursday as a rally in China Life and other insurers on the back of low valuations and speculation over an expansion of investment rules, helped the benchmark stock index outperform Asian peers. But gains were limited in thin trading volume as market participants cautiously eyed further developments in Europe, with a key Spanish bond auction later in the day set to test investor confidence in that country's debt-laden economy. “Yesterday's 1 percent rally in the Hang Seng looked to be short-lived considering the negative spillover from global markets,” said a trader at an Asian brokerage in Hong Kong.
