Hong Kong stocks rise for 3rd day; mainland developers, ZTE rally

Hong Kong shares extended gains for a third day on Wednesday, helped by strength in mainland property developers, as well as a jump in ZTE Corp after the Chinese telecom equipment maker agreed to plead guilty in a U.S. sanctions case.

The benchmark Hang Seng index added 0.4 percent, to 23,782.27, while the Hong Kong China Enterprises Index gained 0.5 percent, to 10,280.31.

An index tracking Chinese property shares surged 3.4 percent, after the previous day's 2.8 percent gain.

ZTE shares jumped around 6 percent, after it agreed to pay nearly $900 million and plead guilty to criminal charges for violating U.S. laws that restrict the sale of American-made technology to Iran and North Korea.

Heavyweight China Unicom Hong Kong Ltd added about 2.2 percent on news that the telecom operation's restructuring reform proposals might soon be approved.

Resource stocks lost 0.3 percent, bucking the broad trend, as weakness in mainland commodities markets curbed demand.

(This article has not been edited by DNA's editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)