Hong Kong stocks continued to rise on Thursday, buoyed by renewed expectations of interest rate cuts by the US Federal Reserve following the release of softer-than-expected US inflation data.

The Hang Seng Index rose 0.34%, or 66.29 points, to close at 19,286.07 on Wednesday. The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index rose 0.35%, or 24.24 points, to end at 7,011.60.

Investors are also looking forward to the upcoming fourth-quarter Chinese economic data, expecting it to reveal a stronger recovery in the country. The sentiment has been lifted after the Chinese state media reported potential easing measures from Beijing in the coming weeks.

The country's central bank infused 340.5 billion yuan in liquidity on Thursday to offset the impact of the effects of the peak tax season and cash demand before the Lunar New Year. From Monday to Wednesday, the PBOC has infused more than 1 trillion yuan in liquidity, Bloomberg said.

Authorities have hesitated to loosen liquidity as it could weigh further on currency and yields and drive capital outflow, the report said.

The volume-weighted average of China's seven-day repurchase rate operations increased to 2.32%, the highest since October 2023, Bloomberg News reported Thursday.

US imports from China rose 14.5% in December as companies stockpiled shipments ahead of the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump on Jan. 20, Reuters reported separately. Trump has threatened tariffs of as high as 60% on Chinese goods once he takes office.

In corporate news, EPI Holdings (HKG:0689) seeks to raise HK$17.8 million by placing up to 1,047,000,000 new shares to at least six independent places at HK$0.017 apiece. Shares of the company closed over 33% higher on Thursday.

Unity Group Holdings International's (HKG:1539) subsidiary Synergy Group Worldwide agreed to purchase another 25% of Synergy Cooling Management's issued share capital from Synergy Green Technology for HK$200 million. The company's shares were over 13% higher on Thursday's close.

Q Technology (Group) (HKG:1478) subsidiary Kunshan QTech Microelectronics subscribed to two wealth management products of China Zheshang Bank (HKG:2016, SHA:601916) for 200 million yuan using the group's idle funds, pushing the company's shares to close nearly 10% higher on Thursday.