Fresh Vaccine Hopes Lift HK, Regional Stocks

Hong Kong and most regional stocks headed north on Tuesday as the US dollar hit a one-year high and optimism about progress in the global roll-out of coronavirus vaccines overrode concerns about the impact of a hedge fund default.

The Hang Seng Index started on a positive note and climbed as many as 355 points during the day.

It finished 239 points, or 0.8 percent higher, at 28,577, on turnover of HK$169.3 billion.

The top gainer on the blue-chip index was Shenzhou International Group, a mainland clothing manufacturer for brands including Nike and Adidas. It soared 9.5 percent after several banks raised their target price for the company following its earnings results.

Local developers also had a good day. Henderson Land surged 5.9 percent. New World Development and Sun Hung Kai Properties each put on about 5 percent.

Meituan rebounded from big losses on Monday, gaining 4.7 percent, following news that the e-commerce platform will be included into a new space exploration-themed exchange traded fund set up by influential US fund manager Cathie Wood.

Markets across the border were driven higher by new energy and healthcare stocks thanks to their positive earnings reports. The Shanghai Composite index gained 0.6 percent, while the blue-chip CSI300 index rose about 1 percent. The Shenzhen Composite edged up 0.5 percent.

Around the region, Tokyo’s Nikkei was 0.2 percent firmer. The Kospi in Seoul jumped 1.1 percent. Taiwan was 0.5 percent higher. Singapore put on 0.6 percent. But Sydney trimmed 0.9 percent.