HSI Surges 3.2 Percent, Leads Region In Gains

Hong Kong and most regional stocks surged on Thursday as Democrat Joe Biden gained the upper hand in the US presidential election.

The Hang Seng Index soared past the 25,500-mark in the morning session and continued to do well after lunch.

It finished the day 809 points or 3.2 percent higher at 25,695.

Market turnover was HK$176 billion dollars.

Top-gainers on the index included property giants China Resources Land and Country Garden Holdings, each gaining more than 8 percent.

Mainland e-commerce giant Alibaba rebounded from Wednesday's losses and jumped over 6 percent after its affiliate Ant Group suspended its IPO.

Mainland online retailer, JD.com, surged more than 9 percent.

Markets across the border reported healthy gains, with the Shanghai Composite Index and the blue-chip CSI-300 index each putting on more than 1 percent.

That's after latest vote-counting in the US showed Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden – who's seen to adopt a less confrontational approach in Sino-US relations – inched closer to victory.

Across the region, the Nikkei in Japan hit a two-year high, gaining 1.7 percent. The Kospi in South Korea climbed more than 2 percent as the won rose against the US dollar. Taiwan and Singapore closed higher as well.