HONG KONG (Nikkei Markets) -- Hong Kong shares rose on Monday morning, helped by a spate of upbeat earnings reports from blue-chip companies. Risk sentiment also received a boost as the market absorbed a pledge by the leaders of North and South Korea to denuclearize their peninsula.
The Hang Seng Index advanced 1.5% to reach 30,738.76 by the lunch break. Industrial & Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) rose 2.8% after reporting a 4% increase in first-quarter net profit from a year earlier. Bank of China (BOC) climbed 1.9% following a 5% increase in March quarter net profit.
