HSI Rebounds Thanks To Vaccine Optimism

Local stocks rebounded on Tuesday while regional markets were mixed following a tech sell-off on Wall Street overnight.

The Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong opened lower but rebounded before noon and continued its rally. It closed the day up 312 points or 1 percent at 30,632.

Dealers said market sentiment was boosted by vaccine progress.

Market turnover was more than HK$267 billion.

Mainland medical giant Sino Biopharmaceutical was the top-gainer on the index, surging more than 12 percent.

HSBC jumped as much as 6 percent during the day but later gave up those gains and closed about half a percent higher after it reported a 30 percent year-on-year drop in profit.

Sister bank Hang Seng Bank lost 0.2 percent after posting a 33 percent drop in net profit.

Markets across the border ended the day in the red, as worries over policy tightening weighed on sectors with lofty valuations.

The blue-chip CSI300 index fell 0.3 percent and the Shanghai Composite Index slid less than 0.2 percent.

Across the region, investors awaited a speech by US Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell later to look for clues on the Fed's outlook on inflation expectations and rising yields.

The Kospi in South Korea lost 0.3 percent, but Taipei put on 0.2 percent. Tokyo was closed for a holiday.

The cryptocurrency bitcoin dropped as much as 6 percent in Asia trade during the day and was trading around US$52,000 as it pulled back from record highs following a long and sharp rally.

To commodities, oil prices rose, underpinned by optimism over the coronavirus vaccine roll-outs and lower output as US supplies were slow to return after a deep freeze in Texas shut down crude production last week.