The Hang Seng Index rose 4.5 per cent to 21,169.82 at 10am local time, the biggest jump since October. On the mainland, the CSI 300 Index, which tracks the 300 largest companies in Shanghai and Shenzhen, rose 1.7 per cent. The Shanghai Composite Index increased 1.5 per cent and the Shenzhen Composite Index rose 3.2 per cent.
Benchmark gauges soared across most Asia-Pacific markets. The Nikkei 225 index surged 8.2 per cent, lifting Japan’s stock index out of a bear market. South Korea’s Kospi Index added 5 per cent and Australia’s ASX 200 index jumped 4.7 per cent.
All but two of the Hang Seng Index’s 83 members strengthened, with exporters and manufacturers leading gainers. Optical lens maker Sunny Optical Technology jumped 12 per cent to HK$66.24, electric-car maker Li Auto advanced 4.2 per cent to HK$84.85 and PC maker Lenovo Group surged 8.5 per cent to HK$8.14.
Overnight, Trump unveiled a 90-day pause on applying tariffs on every trading partner – excluding mainland China and Hong Kong – that was subject to his 10-per cent baseline levy. That announcement sent Wall Street on a tear, pushing the S&P500 Index to jump 9.5 per cent, while the Nasdaq Composite Index closed 12.2 per cent higher, the biggest one-day jump in 24 years.
Trump also unveiled additional levies on Chinese goods, pushing the total tariff on imports from China to 125 per cent. That came after Beijing raised its levy on all imports from the US to 84 per cent.
