Hong Kong - Hong Kong shares staged an impressive rebound to close nearly 3 per cent higher Friday after falling by 3 per cent in the first half hour of business.

At one stage, the Hang Seng Index had jumped by nearly 1,000 points from its morning low to post a 4.5 per cent gain before tailing off slightly in afternoon trading.

The blue-chip index ended the day up 360.64 points or 2.93 per cent to end another turbulent week at 12,659.20 points. Turnover was a weak 50.4 billion Hong Kong dollars (6.5 billion US dollars).

Early losses were driven by more heavy losses on Wall Street overnight and mirrored similar losses in stock markets across the Asia region.

However, rumours that China will further cut its interest rates and expectations of a turnaround on Wall Street when trading starts later Friday lifted market sentiment considerably.

The rebound meant the Hang Seng Index, one of the markets worst hit by the global slump, was able to stay above the 12,000 point barrier and the two-week lows it sank to Thursday. (dpa)