OREANDA-NEWS. February 06, 2015. Hong Kong stocks rose 0.35 percent Thursday, boosted by news that China's central bank had cut the amount of cash lenders must keep in reserve.

Hong Kong's benchmark Hang Seng Index added 85.73 points to 24,765.49 on turnover of HK\\$100.17 billion (\\$12.93 billion). However, Shanghai gave up an early surge to end more than one percent lower.

China's central bank said Wednesday it would cut the reserve requirement ratio -- the percentage of funds banks must hold in reserve -- by 0.50 percentage points, effective from Thursday.

The news met with a positive reception in the first few minutes of trade, with the HSI jumping 1.4 percent after the open before easing.

It also offset worries over Greece's debt renegotiation after the European Central Bank said it would stop Greek lenders from using government bonds as collateral, cutting off a much-needed line of credit.

US shares retreated, with the Dow, which had surged during the day, ending flat while the S&P 500 fell 0.42 percent and the Nasdaq lost 0.23 percent.

And in early trade Thursday Greek shares plunged more than nine percent.

In Hong Kong share trading China Mobile rose 2.56 percent to HK\\$108.30, Tencent added 0.97 percent to HK\\$135.20 and China Life Insurance gained 0.98 percent to HK\\$31.05.

However, HSBC fell 0.28 percent to HK\\$72.20, Sinopec lost 1.43 percent to HK\\$6.19 and casino operator Galaxy Entertainment slipped 1.35 percent to HK\\$40.15.

In mainland China the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index fell 1.18 percent, or 37.60 points, to 3,136.53 on turnover of 348.3 billion yuan (\\$55.7 billion) after rising as much as 2.43 percent on the opening exchanges.

The Shenzhen Composite Index, which tracks stocks on China's second exchange, slipped 0.19 percent, or 2.93 points, to 1,526.11 on turnover of 271.1 billion yuan.

Mainland shares have rallied on hopes that authorities would unveil fresh measures to kickstart the economy following a string of disappointing data, including growth at a 24-year low and manufacturing activity shrinking.

The central bank sent a jolt though markets in November by announcing a surprise cut in interest rates, which helped power the composite index more than 50 percent higher in 2014.

"The cut is within market expectations," Qian Qimin, a Shanghai-based analyst with brokerage Shenwan Hongyuan Group, told AFP.

"It'll be difficult for the market to move upward in the short term, as there is a need for a correction in heavyweight financials," Qian said, adding that new offerings could hit the market in the near term.

A total of 24 companies will start offering shares to investors next week, state media has reported.

Financial players were mixed in Shanghai.

Banking giant ICBC slipped 0.23 percent to 4.40 yuan and Ping An Insurance lost 2.31 percent to 65.94 yuan but Citic Securities rose 0.18 percent to 28.08 yuan.

Metals firms ended lower in Shanghai.

Jiangxi Copper dropped 3.16 percent to 17.46 yuan while Rising Nonferrous Metals eased 2.46 percent to 54.36 yuan.