HONG KONG: Hong Kong shares rose Wednesday, led by property rentals Hong Kong developers, which gained sharply ahead of their strong forecast 2006 results and expectations that the U.S. will keep interest rates unchanged.

The blue chip Hang Seng Index rose 159.51 points, or 0.8 percent, to 19,516.41.

Gains in the property sector and China-related companies helped lift the benchmark index higher despite low turnover during the session. Some investors took to the sidelines in anticipation of heavyweight China Mobile (Hong Kong) Ltd.'s final results, scheduled for release after the markets close, analysts said.

"Investors are taking a cautious view of the market ahead of earnings reports from China Mobile and other market heavyweights," said Castor Pang, a strategist at SHK Financial Ltd.

Pang expected the index to trade within a tight range of between 19,000 and 19,500 in the next few days until "there is a clearer sense of how these companies performed last year."

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Investors may also "prefer to wait for the Federal Reserve's signal on where interest rates will go in the near term amid the chaos in the (U.S.) subprime mortgage market," Taifook Research said in a research note Wednesday.

But the market consensus that the Fed will keep rates unchanged on Thursday helped drive property stocks sharply higher, analysts said. Strong earnings forecast for Cheung Kong Holdings also helped lend support to these companies, they said.

Cheung Kong, scheduled to announce its 2006 results along with those of its unit Hutchison Whampoa on Thursday, rose 2.3 percent to HK$94.55.

Other property companies also advanced. Hang Lung Properties rose 2.9 percent to HK$21.65, Henderson Land gained 1.9 percent to HK$43.35, while Wharf Holdings gained 1.1 percent to HK$27.55.

Crop processor China Agri-Industries Holdings surged on its trading debut, on investor demand for a slice of the country's fast-growing cleaner fuel sector.

Agri-Industries closed at HK$5.53, up 48.7 percent from its initial public offering price of HK$3.72.

Other China-related shares also rose, tracking strong gains in Shanghai stock exchange. The Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.8 percent to end at 3,057, a new record high.