The Hang Seng Index gained 1.2 per cent to 25,749.68 at the noon break, rebounding from a nearly 7 per cent drop over the past seven trading sessions. The Hang Seng Tech Index also rallied 1.2 per cent.
On the mainland, the CSI 300 Index was little changed and the Shanghai Composite Index added 0.1 per cent.
Gold jewel retailer Chow Tai Fook Jewellery Group advanced 4.3 per cent to HK$15.24 and Pop Mart International gained 3.7 per cent to HK$272.60. Alibaba Group Holding rallied 2.9 per cent to HK$160.10 and Tencent Holdings added 0.7 per cent to HK$625.50. HSBC Holdings gained 1.8 per cent to HK$103.70.
Fed Chair Jerome Powell signalled that the world’s largest central bank may deliver a quarter-point rate reduction at its October policy meeting, citing the cooling of the labour market during a recent conference. The Fed’s open-market committee will convene on October 30. The probability of a 25 basis points cut was 95.7 per cent, according to CME Group.
“The market mood feels like standing between two weather systems – one warm with Fed easing winds, the other cold with geopolitical squalls,” said Stephen Innes, a managing partner at SPI Asset Management in Bangkok. The market was “under the illusion of calm, a kind of market mirage where rate-cut euphoria and trade-war reality coexist in awkward harmony”.
