HSI Rises As CE Signals Return To Normalcy

Hong Kong stocks ended the morning on a strong note on Tuesday, extending the previous day's rally on hopes the coronavirus pandemic is easing, and after Chief Executive Carrie Lam said she expects to begin reopening some public spaces.

The Hang Seng Index gained 0.8 percent, to 24,466.

On the mainland, the Shanghai Composite Index slipped 0.3 percent to 2,815 while the Shenzhen Composite Index was flat at 1,738.

Tokyo ended the morning 0.6 percent down while Seoul and Singapore were off around 0.4 percent each.

Sydney and Taipei each edged up 0.1 percent, while Manila was more than 1 percent higher.

Jakarta also rose, while Wellington surged more than 3 percent as investors returned from a long weekend when the New Zealand government declared victory in its battle against the virus and considered lifting restrictions.

Stephen Innes at AxiCorp said the general mood for now was positive.

"Investors continue to play off the bullish-for-growth narrative as several economies around the world set to re-open to the timely central bank week, where guidance will pledge to expand existing asset-purchase schemes if conditions deteriorate," he wrote in a note.

Despite tentative reopenings in some countries, crude continues to be mauled by concerns over collapsed demand and storage facilities filling up.

WTI plunged below US$11 a barrel Tuesday, a day after it lost a quarter of its value, after a major exchange-traded fund started selling its short-term contracts of the commodity. (AFP)

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