The Hang Seng Index shot up 1.3 per cent to 27,191.99 as of 9.55am local time. The Hang Seng Tech Index added 2.2 per cent. Mainland stock exchanges are closed for the National Day and Mid-Autumn Festival holidays from Wednesday through October 8.
Technology firms led the rise. Short-video platform Kuaishou Technology soared 8 per cent to HK$91.30 while search-engine giant Baidu surged 3.7 per cent to HK$138. E-commerce company Alibaba Group Holding advanced 3.7 per cent to HK$183.50, while peer JD.com rose 2.5 per cent to HK$141.90. WeChat operator Tencent rallied 2.1 per cent to HK$677, and food-delivery service provider Meituan advanced 1.8 per cent to HK$106.40. Smartphone and car maker Xiaomi added 1.9 per cent to HK$55 after it delivered more than 40,000 vehicles in September.
Limiting gains, online travel-booking platform Trip.com declined 1.9 per cent to HK$584.50 and blind-box toymaker Pop Mart lost 1.5 per cent to HK$262.80. Li Auto dropped 0.7 per cent to HK$100.70 and sportswear producer Anta Sports Products slipped 1.2 per cent to HK$92.40.
China’s home sales by the 100 largest developers edged up 0.4 per cent in September to 252.8 billion yuan (US$35.5 billion) from a year earlier, reversing a 17.6 per cent drop in August, data from China Real Estate Information Corporation showed on Wednesday. The modest recovery follows nearly three years of incremental policy support, including recent eased purchase rules in Beijing and Shanghai.
Other major Asian markets strengthened. Japan’s Nikkei 225 gained 0.6 per cent, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 added 1.3 per cent and South Korea’s Kospi advanced 3.1 per cent.
