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The Hang Seng Index jumped 1 per cent to 17,278.19 at 10.56am local time, the most in about a week. The Tech Index gained 2.2 per cent, while the Shanghai Composite Index gained less than 0.1 per cent.
Tencent gained 1.2 per cent to HK$290.60, while Alibaba Group added 2.1 per cent to HK$81.30 and rival e-commerce platform operator JD.com jumped 1.8 per cent to HK$100.50. Henderson Land led home builders higher, adding 3.2 per cent to HK$21.20, while Sun Hung Kai Properties rose 1.7 per cent to HK$82.50.
Bank of China (Hong Kong) gained 0.7 per cent to HK$21, Hang Seng Bank traded 1.6 per cent higher at HK$90.75, while China Construction Bank strengthened 0.9 per cent to HK$4.51.
The Hang Seng Index has declined almost 13 per cent this year, making it the worst performer among major global stock indices, according to Bloomberg data. Concerns about higher rates have clouded the outlook for property developers, while pushing overleveraged ones into debt distress.
The Fed left the key rate unchanged at a 22-year high of 5.25 to 5.5 per cent overnight, as inflation slowed and higher Treasury yields effectively tightened financial conditions. In lockstep, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority maintained its base rate at 5.75 per cent, a 16-year high.
Hong Kong keeps base rate steady at 5.75% to spur businesses
Hong Kong keeps base rate steady at 5.75% to spur businesses
“We expect the Fed to remain on hold going into next year,” said Ray Sharma-Ong, investment director for multi-asset solutions at abrdn, a UK-based money manager. This will reduce market volatility stemming from policy uncertainty and enable equity markets to better price assets based on corporate fundamentals, he added.
The Fed has hiked rates 11 times since the “policy lift-off” in March 2022, the most aggressive tightening in four decades to tame inflation. Although officials did not take future increases off the table, they said they would proceed carefully as financial conditions have “tightened significantly” in recent months.
Consumer stocks declined to cap some of the earlier gains, amid renewed concerns about China’s softening consumption growth after Yum China’s earnings disappointed. Food delivery platform Meituan lost 0.3 per cent to HK$108.70, hotpot chain Haidilao dropped 0.7 per cent to HK$16.94 and China Resources Beer weakened 1.2 per cent to HK$40.60.
Two stocks debuted on Thursday. Guoquan Food Shanghai added 3 per cent to HK$6.17 on its first day of trading in Hong Kong, while Hangzhou Reformer Holding surged 84 per cent to 14.13 yuan in Beijing.
Other key Asian markets advanced. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 and the Nikkei 225 Index in Japan both gained 1.1 per cent, while South Korea’s Kospi jumped 1.6 per cent.
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