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Hong Kong - Hong Kong shares rose 0.35% on Friday following a positive lead from Wall Street but gains were capped owing to concerns about a budget stand-off in Washington.
The benchmark Hang Seng Index added 82.01 points to 23 207.04 on turnover of HK$54.34bn ($7.01bn).
Trading was tentative as US lawmakers remain unable to reach agreement over a budget just days before the Monday deadline that could see parts of the federal government shut down.
With Democrats refusing to agree to Republican demands that President Barack Obama's healthcare bill be cut back there are fears that hundreds of thousands of US state employees will be sent home from Tuesday.
Among banking stocks, Bank of China lost 0.83% to HK$3.58 while Bank of East Asia was unchanged at HK$33.25
State-owned energy giant China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) soared 1.52% to HK$15.98 and China Resources Power gained 0.55% to HK$18.34.
Chinese shares rose 0.20%. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index edged up 4.22 points to 2 160.03 on turnover of 97.8bn yuan ($16.0bn).
"The market should move higher after the holiday break as not much has changed in the macroeconomy," Zheshang Securities analyst Wang Weijun told Dow Jones Newswires.
Mainland Chinese markets will be closed for a week from Tuesday for the National Day holiday.
Media sectors reversed earlier losses with a strong rebound. Shanghai Xinhua Media soared 9.96 percent to 7.62 yuan and Bestv New Media jumped 6.56% to 47.59 yuan.
But investors continued profit-taking in firms related to Shanghai's planned free-trade zone.
Shanghai Lujiazui Finance & Trade Zone Development dived by its 10% daily limit to 24.22 yuan and Shanghai Jinqiao Export Processing Zone Development fell 9.90% to 13.84 yuan.
