By Amy Lam
Nikkei Markets
HONG KONG (Mar 01) -- Hong Kong shares headed higher after a choppy morning session on Thursday, as a recovery for heavyweight Tencent Holdings and mainland companies erased early losses stemming from lingering concern about a faster-than-expected pace of U.S. interest-rate increases.
The Hang Seng Index had gained 0.2% to 30,917.16 by the noon break, after falling as low as 30,453.82 earlier in the day. The gauge fell 1.4% on Wednesday, capping its worst monthly performance in more than two years. Tencent was up 2.4% on Thursday after falling as much as 1% in early trading. Agricultural Bank of China (ABC) rose 1.2% to lead the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index 0.2% higher by the lunchbreak. The gauge had fallen as much as 1.6% in the morning.