The Hang Seng rose 82 points, or 0.3%, to finish at 27,266 on Wednesday, up for a third session amid broad-based sector advances. Sentiment stayed upbeat after China’s central bank renewed its pledge to boost domestic demand. Meanwhile, official data showed slower consumer inflation in the mainland for January and persistent producer-price deflation, reinforcing expectations of new support measures. However, strength was tempered by concerns over industrial overcapacity and weak consumption, which weighed on confidence and growth prospects. Trading momentum also eased ahead of the Spring Festival holiday starting February 15. Hesai Group jumped 6.4%, and SenseTime rose 2.9% after joining the MSCI China Index. WuXi Biologics climbed 3.6% to its highest since October on strong earnings, while Minth Group hit a 5-year high on news of a Canadian joint venture. In contrast, SMIC fell 2.7% after its CEO warned the chip industry is “a bit panicked” over an AI-driven memory chip shortage.
