The Hang Seng Index climbed 68.59 points, or 0.40 percent, to open at 17,177.30 points on Thursday.

Overnight, US data showed core consumer price index rose 0.28 percent in August, compared with forecasts for a rise of 0.2 percent. It was enough of a steer for markets to almost abandon the chance of a half-point rate cut from the Federal Reserve next week, with probability for such a move at just 15 percent. (With additional reporting by Xinhua and Reuters)