The Hang Seng climbed 363 points, or 1.4%, to end at 26,710 on Tuesday, its highest since mid-November, after a muted prior session, boosted by broad-based gains. Sentiment improved on strength in mainland markets, which hit decade highs ahead of the Lunar New Year. Financial and property stocks led with gains of about 2% each, buoyed by hopes of fresh policy support from Beijing and a more accommodative stance toward the troubled property sector. The tech index rose 1.5% on optimism over China’s AI progress, rallying for three sessions. Baidu’s Hong Kong shares surged 2% to their highest since August 2023. Zijin Gold jumped 3.6%, tracking non-ferrous metals after copper hit record highs. Insurance stocks also rose, with Ping An and AIA Group up 2.7% and 2.3% on bets of stronger product sales. Still, the upside was capped by caution ahead of China’s CPI and PPI data. Meanwhile, Hong Kong’s private sector PMI in December eased from a near three-year high, due to rising cost pressures.
