SHANGHAI: Hong Kong stocks rose on Wednesday, led by tech shares, as easing US-China trade tensions bolstered sentiment, while investors shifted their focus to corporate earnings. China stocks edged up on the day.
China stocks largely flat, HK retreats
China’s blue-chip CSI300 Index was up 0.3% by the lunch break, while the Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.2%. Hong Kong benchmark Hang Seng was up 1.4%.
The US will cut the “de minimis” tariff for low-value shipments from China to as low as 30%, further de-escalating a potentially damaging trade war between the world’s largest economies.
Chinese stocks have recovered all their losses, triggered by US President Donald Trump’s punitive tariff measures imposed on April 2.
“With the most extreme uncertainties out of the way, we think fundamentals will be a more important driver of share price performances going forward and it is time to dial-up the risk setting,” said UBS strategist James Wang.
An agreement between US and Chinese officials after weekend talks in Geneva led to a rally in global markets on Monday.
Wang favored the internet sector and shares traded in Hong Kong over those listed in mainland China.
Tencent and Alibaba rose 2% and 1.6%, respectively, on Wednesday as investors awaited their earnings to see if the results could help spark another tech rally. Tencent’s results are due later in the day and Alibaba’s on Thursday.
Tech majors in Hong Kong rose 1.4% and have climbed nearly 20% year-to-date.
E-commerce retailer JD.com jumped 2.7%, after the company reported quarterly revenue that surpassed market expectations.
Tencent Music Entertainment’s shares surged 13%, after it surpassed first-quarter revenue expectations on Tuesday.