HSI Soars As Investors Ignore Virus Outbreak Fears

Hong Kong stocks rallied into the break on Tuesday as investors focus on the reopening of economies around the world, despite growing fears of a second wave of virus infections.

The Hang Seng Index added 1 percent, to 24,749.

On the mainland, the Shanghai Composite Index edged up 0.2 percent to 2,970 while the Shenzhen Composite Index added 0.3 percent, to 1,942.

Tokyo went into the break 0.8 percent higher and Sydney rose 0.3 percent.

Seoul jumped 0.7 percent despite signs of a second wave of coronavirus in the capital, while Taipei and Jakarta were also up. Wellington was flat, while Singapore and Manila were lower.

The easing of lockdown measures combined with trillions of dollars in government and central bank support remain the key drivers of the seemingly unstoppable march higher for equities.

And a pick-up in new cases in all continents is still unable to knock traders off their stride, as they bet on a V-shaped economic recovery.

"When you have high levels of liquidity, when you have a recovering economy, low inflation, low interest rates, you really have a strong foundation for equities to move higher," Victoria Fernandez at Crossmark Global Investments, told Bloomberg TV.

"But there are so many uncertainties still out there that we think there’s going to be some volatility before we get that upside trend on a continual basis." (AFP)

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