The Hang Seng Index rose 56.17 points, or 0.31 percent, to open at 18,069.33 points on Friday.

Following the Federal Reserve's 50 basis point rate cut, the MSCI World, S&P 500 and Dow all hit new highs on Thursday. The Nasdaq jumped 2.5 percent and the Russell 2000 index of US small caps rose for a seventh day to register its longest winning stretch since March, 2021.

China unexpectedly left benchmark lending rates unchanged at the monthly fixing on Friday.

The one-year loan prime rate (LPR) was kept at 3.35 percent, while the five-year LPR was unchanged at 3.85 percent.

In a Reuters survey of 39 market participants conducted this week, 27, or 69 percent, of all respondents expected both rates to be trimmed.

(with additional reporting from Xinhua and Reuters)