Hong Kong stocks rose for a fourth day on Thursday, with HSBC (0005.HK) advancing after itresumed talks with Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS.L) over thepurchase of RBS units in Asia.

Investors also chased local developers including Sino Land(0083.HK) as property prices are expected to rise, while marketnewcomers did well on their debuts. The benchmark Hang Seng Index .HSI rose 1.18 percent, or251.31 points, to 21,492.90, the highest since Sept. 23. SinceOct. 5, the index has risen 5.5 percent. Turnover was HK$59.9 billion ($7.7 billion), down from HK$65.8 billion ($8.5 billion) Wednesday.

The market has been very bullish in the last few sessions.There is some follow-through buying, as people are expectingChina to do well when it re-opens tomorrow, said Jackson Wong,investment manager at Tanrich Securities. Another major factoris that the U.S. dollar is extremely weak. That forced people tobuy risky assets like stocks and gold. Markets in China are closed for a public holiday.

Tradingwill resume on Oct. 9. Index heavyweight HSBC rose 1.83 percent. Aluminium Corporation of China (2600.HK) or Chalco gained4.34 percent, lifted by an unexpected third-quarter profit fromU.S. aluminium producer Alcoa Inc (AA.N).

Cazenove Asia on Thursday raised Chalco to in line fromunderperform as demand for aluminium has improved. Chalcoprobably posted a small profit in the third-quarter, after threeconsecutive quarters of losses, it said. Market debuts on Thursday went well copared with theirinitial public offering prices. Yingde Gases Group (2168.HK) wasup 12 percent, while Ausnutria Dairy Corp (1717.HK) rose 27.5percent.

The stocks that debuted today were priced a lot lower thantheir target ranges. I can't say that the interest for IPOS iscoming back. It's just that the panic is over, said Wong. He said Wynn Macau (1128.HK), which will start trading onFriday, would likely trade below its IPO price of $10.08, the topof its indicative range.Metallurgical Corp of China's (1618.HK) weak debut last monthhas weighed on the market, hurting China Resources Cement(1313.HK), which ended flat on its first trading day on Oct. 6.

Hong Kong developers gained on expectations property priceswill rise in 2010 as the local economy rebounds, analysts said.Sino Land (0083.HK) rose 3.16 percent and Sun Hung Kai Properties(0016.HK) climbed 2.93 percent. Tight supply, very low interest rates and rising prices aresupporting the overall property sector, said Eva Lee, analyst atMacquarie Securities.

Basically, investors are buying shares ofHong Kong builders because of the outlook on prices. The China Enterprises Index .HSCE of top locally listedmainland Chinese companies was up 1.11 percent at 12,455.84, ledby a 5.07 percent gain in China Citic Bank (0998.HK). Chinese shippers were higher after the Baltic Exchange's mainsea freight index .BADI, which tracks shipping rates for drycommodities, rose to a seven-week high.

China Shipping Development (1138.HK) advanced 1.86 percentand China Cosco (1919.HK) gained 2.55 percent. Huabao International Holdings Ltd (0336.HK) fell 5.11percent. The company said on Thursday that shareholder MogulEnterprises would sell 150 million shares in Huabao at HK$7.75each.

After the transaction Mogul's interest in Huabao will fallto 4.23 percent from 9.06 percent. Tianneng Power (0819.HK) dropped 7.79 percent. The mainlandbattery maker raised HK$385 million from a share placement.

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