Hong Kong shares rose 83 points, or 0.3%, to 25,974 on Wednesday morning deals, extending gains for a third straight session. Sentiment improved further following a strong lead from Wall Street overnight, as weaker U.S. consumer confidence and soft retail data reinforced expectations of another Fed rate cut in December. Property and financial stocks in the Hang Seng index led the advance, with momentum also supported by continued gains in mainland markets following Monday’s phone call between President Trump and Xi Jinping, their first discussion since last month’s trade deal. On the trade front, Hong Kong’s exports held near a four-year high in October, while imports posted their strongest growth in five months. Still, gains were tempered by caution ahead of China’s industrial profit data due Thursday. Among early movers, pharma names outperformed, including Akeso Inc. (4.8%), Innovent Biologics (2.4%), Wuxi Biologics (1.6%), and Hansoh Pharma (1.5%).
