HSI Rallies As Inflation Fears Ease

Hong Kong stocks surged back above the 29,000 mark on Thursday, tracking gains in the US after the Dow reached a record closing high, as risk sentiment returned with a calmer treasuries market and easing concerns over inflation.

The Hang Seng Index opened marginally higher but found its footing soon to soar more than 500 points in the morning. It finished the day up 447 points, or 1.6 percent, at 29,354, on turnover of HK$198.8 billion.

The top gainer on the blue-chip index, CSPC Pharmaceutical, soared 11 percent. Wuxi Biologics advanced 7.3 percent.

Tech share put on a mixed picture. Meituan roared back with 8.4 percent in gains. Tencent added 3.3 percent. Kuaishou jumped 10.6 percent. But Xiaomi gave up its gains to lose 0.5 percent. Alibaba slipped 0.4 percent.

China Unicom retreated 1.4 percent to become the biggest blue-chip loser. MTR Corporation trimmed 0.5 percent ahead of its earnings announcement.

Across the border, strong lending data helped lift the Shanghai Composite Index up 2.4 percent, while the blue-chip CSI300 index ticked up 2.5 percent. The Shenzhen Composite Index also gained more than two percent.

Elsewhere in the region, Japan's Nikkei edged up 0.6 percent. Seoul's Kospi rose 1.9 percent. Taiwan climbed 1.7 percent. Singapore was 0.8 percent higher. Australia was flat.