Hong Kong, Mainland Stock Markets Rally

Hong Kong stocks rose in the morning session on Monday as hope for a virus vaccine trumped concerns about a pick-up in infections in the city.

The Hang Seng Index added 0.9 percent, to 25,963.

On the mainland, the Shanghai Composite Index soared 1.3 percent, to 3,426 while the Shenzhen Composite Index jumped 2.7 percent, to 2,312.

Most other Asian markets rose, recovering some of the losses at the end of last week, as investors followed a strong performance on Wall Street, though a spike in infections around the world capped gains.

Tokyo led the gains, adding 1.7 percent in the morning session, while Seoul and Sydney also climbed more than 1 percent.

Jakarta rose 0.8 percent, Taipei gained 1 percent and Wellington added 0.6 percent. Singapore and Manila were slightly lower.

Investors welcomed comments from the head of German biotech firm BioNTech who said a vaccine candidate would be ready for regulatory review by the end of the year, while Gilead Sciences said its drug remdesivir had been relatively effective in clinical trials.

"Ongoing grim US Covid-19 infection news continues to be summarily ignored in favour of ongoing optimism regarding the timeline for the discovery and rapid roll-out of an effective vaccine... and/or more policy support for asset prices in the US economy," said Ray Attrill at National Australia Bank. (AFP)

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