HONG KONG, Oct 16 — Hong Kong shares closed higher today, in line with a rally across Asia and after shrugging off a mid-morning drop when the city’s leader was forced to briefly abandon a policy speech owing to heckling by opposition lawmakers.

The Hang Seng Index added 0.61 per cent, or 160.35 points, to 26,664.28.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index dropped 0.41 per cent, or 12.34 points, to 2,978.71, while the Shenzhen Composite Index, which tracks stocks on China’s second exchange, eased 0.38 per cent, or 6.30 points, to 1,635.65. — Bernama