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Hong Kong stocks staged a sharp rally on Friday as rumours and news reports fed hopes for twin relief in US-China tension and China’s tough COVID rules.
The Hang Seng Index surged by 5.36% to jump above 16,000 mark and close at 16,161. The Hang Seng Tech soared as much as 11% at one point before closing 7.54% higher. The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index jumped 6%.
For the week, the Hang Seng Index jumped 8.7%, the biggest one-week gain since Oct 2011. The Hang Seng Tech Index surged 15.63% this week, the biggest one-week gain on record.
Technology heavyweights rallied, with Kiaishou surging 16%, JD.com up 12%, Alibaba up more than 10%. Automakers led the gains, with Xpeng Motors surging more than 24%.
Mainland property developers, property management companies, catering companies, electric power companies, mobile game companies, home appliance makers and financial institutions also rallied, while pharmaceutical companies underperformed.
The Shanghai Composite Index gained 2.4% to close at 3,070, the Shenzhen Component Index surging 3.2% and the tech-heavy Chinext Price Index up 3.16%. For the week, the three indexes gained 5.3%, 7.5% and 8.9%, respectively.
Consumer stocks led the gains on Friday., with liquor makers, automakers, tourism companies, food makers and beverage producers surging. Kweichow Moutai jumped by more than 5% to recover 1,500 yuan mark.
Financial institutions also outperformed, with insurance companies leading the gains. Lithium mining companies, battery producers, solar power companies, energy storage companies and rare earth companies were mostly higher.
Overseas investors bought a net 9.993 billion yuan of Chinese A-share via the Mainland – Hong Kong Stock Connect scheme on Friday, the highest since September 9.
Bloomberg News reported on Friday that US audit officials completed the first round of on-site inspections of Chinese companies ahead of schedule and will leave Hong Kong as soon as this weekend, signaling progress in the process of preventing the delisting of hundreds of shares of US-listed Chinese companies.
