Hong Kong stocks rose after China’s top leadership vowed to keep opening the economy to foreign investors amid headwinds, reassuring global funds that have ploughed more than US$25 billion into the local equity market this year.
The Hang Seng Index gained 0.7 per cent to 19,707.45 at the local noon trading break. The Tech Index climbed 0.5 per cent while the Shanghai Composite Index slid 0.2 per cent.
Tencent surged 4.1 per cent to HK$377.60, while HSBC rallied 1.5 per cent to HK$52.45. JD.com added 1.1 per cent to HK$154.90, Baidu rose 0.7 per cent to HK$150.60 and Chow Tai Fook Jewellery Group advanced 2.1 per cent to HK$15.56.
Limiting gains, noodle maker Tingyi slumped 11.3 per cent to HK$12.58 after earnings in 2022 slumped 31 per cent, as its first report card since joining the benchmark index in December underscored worries about consumption recovery.
“The recovery in China is on a strong footing,” Jing Ning, head of equities at Fidelity International, said at a webinar on market outlook on Tuesday, citing a stabilising housing market and investment data, among other factors. “Valuation is attractive.”
Premier Li Qiang said China’s economy will stay open “no matter what happens” in a message to global CEOs including Apple’s Tim Cook and Bridgewater Associates’ Ray Dalio at a forum in Beijing this week. “No matter how the international situation changes, China will unswervingly keep expanding our opening up,” Li said.
Source: The SCMP
