Hong Kong stocks closed higher on Monday as US-China trade tensions showed signs of easing and China reported economic growth that was largely in line with expectations.
The Hang Seng Index rose 2.4%, while the Hang Seng Tech Index surged 3%.
In terms of star stocks, Alibaba rose 5%; Baidu, SMIC, NIO rose 4%; Tencent, Xiaomi, JD.com rose 3%; Meituan, Li Auto rose 2%.
China’s gross domestic product (GDP) grew 4.8 per cent year on year in the third quarter, according to data published on Monday by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). The reading brings the figure for the first nine months to 5.2 per cent – closer to achieving China’s annual target. Beijing is kicking off a significant closed-door meeting on Monday to decide on economic plans for the next five years. A communique is expected on Thursday.
Trade tensions between the world’s two largest economies showed signs of easing on Friday when US President Donald Trump announced plans to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in South Korea later this month. Trump also backed off a threat to impose additional 100 per cent tariffs on all Chinese goods in response to China’s rare earth export controls.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Friday had “candid, in-depth, and constructive discussions on major issues in bilateral economic and trade relations” in a video call with Chinese Vice-Premier He Lifeng. The two will meet in Malaysia this week.
“Recently, movements in Hong Kong stocks, whether up or down, have largely reflected market sentiment about progress in China-US trade relations,” said Kenny Ng Lai-yin, a strategist at Everbright Securities International. “Today’s release of better-than-expected third-quarter GDP data from mainland China has added further support to the market’s upwards momentum. However, with China-US relations still unclear as the end of the month approaches, investors are likely to remain cautious and adopt a wait-and-see attitude.”
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