Hong Kong stocks closed higher on Thursday, as investors looked for signs of easing geopolitical tensions following US leader Donald Trump’s remarks that he had a “pretty long meeting scheduled” in South Korea with Chinese President Xi Jinping next week.
The Hang Seng Index (HSI) up 0.7%, while the Hang Seng Tech Index (HSTECH) up 0.5%.
In terms of star stocks, Meituan up 4%; Alibaba, Tencent up 2%; Li Auto, Xiaomi up 1%; Pop Mart fell 9%; Hua Hong Semi fell 5%.
Investors are watching closely for any signs that the potential talks between Xi and Trump could help stabilise markets rattled by geopolitical risks and uncertainty over global trade flows. Trump said the talks would range from soybean purchases to rare earth exports and the Russia-Ukraine war.
Meanwhile, the White House was reportedly weighing export restrictions of US-made software to China, adding to the trade and geopolitical tensions.
“The market is adopting a wait-and-see attitude right now, as Donald Trump’s remarks often change,” said Kenny Tang, chairman of the Hong Kong Institute of Financial Analysts. “Investors will stay cautious until the meeting [with Xi] is confirmed. So for the time being, market conditions will likely remain volatile.”
Tang said there was support at the lower end of the trading range, such as around the 100-day moving average. “However, I believe the market will become more volatile when it goes above the 26,000-point level,” he said.
Elsewhere, authorities in mainland China’s tech hub of Shenzhen released an action plan on Wednesday to help boost the stock market, aiming to raise the combined market capitalisation of its domestic and overseas-listed firms above 20 trillion yuan (US$2.8 trillion) through 2027 via mergers and acquisitions.
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