The Hang Seng rose 151 points, or 0.6%, to end at 26,999 on Wednesday, extending gains for a fourth straight session as strength in consumer and tech stocks outweighed losses elsewhere. Sentiment was underpinned by China’s record 2025 trade surplus, with December figures staying above USD?100?billion, driven by robust exports to non-U.S. markets as a reaction to Trump-era tariff risks. Gains were capped, however, by another slide in mainland equities after Chinese exchanges unexpectedly tightened margin requirements to cool an overheating market. Meanwhile, U.S. equity futures fell sharply after Wall Street losses on Tuesday on concerns over central bank independence, subdued U.S. inflation data, and rising geopolitical risks after Beijing warned of retaliation if Washington imposes 25% tariffs on countries trading with Tehran. Top gainers included Alibaba Health Intl. (17.4%), Nongfu Spring (5.7%), Kuaishou Tech (3.9%), Laopu Gold (3.2%), and Galaxy Entertainment (2.6%).
