Hong Kong stocks rose on Wednesday, supported by gains in key index constituents such as AIA and Xiaomi, which helped offset concerns about China’s manufacturing sector amid escalating trade tensions with the United States. The Hang Seng Index increased 0.5% to close at 22,119.41, marking its strongest performance in five days. The Hang Seng Tech Index also advanced, rising 1.4%. Meanwhile, mainland Chinese markets saw modest declines, with the CSI 300 Index dipping 0.1% and the Shanghai Composite Index down 0.2%, ahead of a multi-day Labour Day holiday closure. Hong Kong’s market will also close on Thursday and Monday for the same reason.
AIA surged 6.5% to HK$58.10 after reporting strong new business growth in both Hong Kong and mainland China, providing a notable boost to investor sentiment. China Life Insurance also benefited, gaining 1.6% to HK$14.20. Xiaomi jumped 5.3% to HK$49.95 after unveiling its first open-source AI reasoning model, sparking optimism about the company’s innovation prospects.
Alibaba rose 2.2% to HK$117.50 as its food delivery unit, Ele.me, announced plans to distribute over 10 billion yuan (US$13.8 billion) in subsidies through “red envelopes” to attract and retain users. However, the broader financial sector weighed on the market, with China Merchants Bank falling 4.6% to HK$42.45, ICBC dropping 2.9% to HK$5.32, and Bank of China declining 0.5% to HK$4.34, following lackluster earnings results.
Among electric vehicle makers, Nio slid 5.1% to HK$31.45, and Xpeng declined 1% to HK$72.85. Meituan, a major on-demand delivery service, lost 1.4% to HK$130.30. Property developer China Vanke dropped 1.7% to HK$5.35 after reporting a deeper-than-expected first-quarter loss.
Concerns about the broader Chinese economy resurfaced as the official Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) for April fell to 49, signaling contraction and missing forecasts. A separate private PMI also weakened, particularly among smaller firms. Analysts expressed growing concern over the cumulative impact of US tariffs and ongoing weakness in the property sector, calling for more aggressive stimulus measures from Beijing.
HKEX rose 1.6% to HK$34.80 following its record-setting Q1 earnings report. Dickson Concepts soared 43.1% to HK$6.84 after news emerged of a privatisation plan by its founder. In regional markets, Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.6%, Australia’s ASX 200 climbed 0.7%, while South Korea’s Kospi slipped 0.3%.
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