The Hang Seng Index climbed 1 per cent to 16,791.36 at 9.55am local time, adding to the 1.7 per cent rebound on Wednesday. The Tech Index jumped 1 per cent, while the Shanghai Composite Index added 0.5 per cent.

Tencent rose 1.3 per cent to HK$288.80, while NetEase added 1.2 per cent to HK$138.20, both continuing to claw back steep losses on Friday. Meituan gained 1.5 per cent to HK$79.50 and JD.com gained 1 per cent to HK$108.30. Elsewhere, EV maker BYD advanced 1.8 per cent to HK$208.80, Li Auto strengthened 2 per cent to HK$139.60 and Geely Auto climbed 3.9 per cent to HK$8.23.

The city’s stock benchmark has risen 2.5 per cent this week amid thin transactions, narrowing the loss in December to 1.6 per cent. The 17.4 per cent drop this year will complete a four-year losing streak, the worst run of losses since inception.

Dividends, stock buy-backs a bright spark in China market: JPMorgan fund

Meanwhile, foreign funds returned to the mainland market, scooping up 5.7 billion yuan (US$790 million) worth of A shares on Wednesday in the biggest purchase in a month, according to Stock Connect data. Money managers including JPMorgan Asset Management are confident record buy-backs and dividend payouts will boost stock performance in future.