Local Stocks Gain Ground, Powered By Geely

Hong Kong reported modest gains while mainland and regional markets were mixed on Wednesday after Beijing pledged to roll out additional policy measures to prop up the economy.

The Hang Seng Index climbed half a percent, or 129 points, to close at 26,544.

Turnover was HK$133 billion.

Mainland auto giant Geely was the top gainer on the benchmark index, surging more than 6 percent, after German carmaker Daimler announced that it will cooperate with Geely to build next-generation combustion engines for use in hybrid vehicles.

Markets across the border gave up their early gains and finished mixed.

The Shanghai Composite Index earned 0.2 percent while the blue-chip CSI300 index closed slightly lower.

That followed comments by Premier Li Keqiang that China will promote growth to a “reasonable” range while pursuing higher-quality development, which analysts said eased concerns that Beijing may soon abandon stimulus measures to boost a Covid-hit economy.

Across the region, Taipei climbed more than 1 percent and Seoul put on 0.3 percent.

But the Nikkei in Japan bucked the upward trend and dipped more than 1 percent after Tokyo reported a jump in coronavirus cases.