A woman walks past an electronic display showing the Hang Seng Index in the Central District of Hong Kong on May 27, 2022. BERTHA WANG AFP HONG KONG - Hong Kong stocks rose by nearly 6 percent on Wednesday to post their best session in almost seven weeks, as hopes for central banks to slow the pace of interest rate hikes amid early signs that previous policy tightening was working.
After a one-day holiday in the city, traders said that hopes of less aggressive rate hikes fueled buying as markets tried to catch up with gains in world stocks, but most participants kept to the sidelines with mainland markets closed for the week and ahead of US jobs data on Friday.
The Hang Seng Index closed at 1,008. 46 points, or 5.9 percent, were higher at 18,087. Consumer discretionary stocks led the rally, with 97 of them leading the rally. The Hang Seng China Enterprises IndexHang Seng China Enterprises Index rose 6.28 percent to 6,224. The Hang Seng tracking energy shares increased by 3.7 percent, while the IT sector gained 7.27 percent, the financial sector was 6.07 percent higher and the property sector climbed 2.63 percent.
The Hang Seng was the top gainer of the Hang Seng, with a jump of 13.71 percent, while the biggest loser was Country Garden Holdings with a drop of 1.01 percent.
HSBC's Hong Kong shares ended up 5.7 percent higher in the latest session since February 2021 on a Canadian business sale, while Standard Chartered jumped 7.2 percent, marking its best day since April 28.
The Asia ex-Japan stock index of MSCI was firmer around the region by 2.53 percent, while Japan's Nikkei Index closed up 0.48 percent.
The top gain among H-shares was Shenzhou International, followed by ANTA Sports Products, up 10.46 percent, and Li Ning Co, up 10.41 percent.
The top movers in the Hang Seng Tech Index were JD.Com, which jumped 10.1 percent, BYD Electronic, which went up 9.5 percent, and Kingsoft, which was up 9.1 percent.