Vaccine, US Stimulus Hopes Send HSI Higher

The Hang Sang Index followed the lead of Wall Street and finished Wednesday with gains as US lawmakers close in on a fiscal stimulus deal.

Dealers say investor sentiment was also lifted by optimism towards coronavirus vaccines even as the outbreak continues to affect the world.

The local benchmark started the day strong, up more the 200 points, and kept up the momentum to close almost 1 percent, or 253 points higher, at 26,460.

Turnover was at HK$129 billion.

Tencent and Alibaba each jumped 2 percent. Meituan climbed 1.8 percent. But Xiaomi eased nearly 1 percent.

HSBC edged up 0.7 percent following a report saying a Greek lender is considering buying the British bank’s operations in Greece.

Mainland chipmaker SMIC dived almost 10 percent after resuming trading in the afternoon. Shares recovered some of the losses to finish almost 5 percent lower. The company announced in a filing to the stock exchange that it was verifying media reports that its co-CEO is planning to resign. SMIC shares listed in Shanghai lost more than 7 percent.

Mainland markets were mixed. The Shanghai Composite index was flat, the blue-chip CSI300 index put on nearly 0.2 percent but the Shenzhen Composite index lost 0.4 percent.

Around the region, the Nikkei in Japan inched up more than a quarter of 1 percent. Seoul’s Kospi gained half a percent to close at a new high. Taiwan snapped a two-day losing streak and rallied 1.7 percent. Sydney rose 0.7 percent. Singapore was also up.